By: Yvette Smothers

Work on assembling Sound The Alarm educational packets that accompany smoke alarms during installation was in full swing at an event hosted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBS). Each packet includes a Home Fire Escape Plan whiteboard and marker, a Sound The Alarm magnet for posting the plan on their refrigerator, a Home Fire Safety Checklist, a flier with instructions on how to download the new Red Cross emergency app, a “Red Cross Ready” hand out entitled “Returning Home After a Hurricane or Flood,” and outreach to volunteer information. Don Meyn, Capital Area Chapter Logistics Lead said, “That is a key ingredient to the work of the installers, it is as important as the alarms because it combines the installation with education for the occupants to better optimize the use of smoke alarms and provide fire safety planning in their household.”
 

The campaign is called Sound The Alarm – Save a Life for good reason. Home fires claim the lives of seven people every day, but having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death by fifty percent.
 

The BCBS team included 15 volunteers and with Red Crossers helping created a working assembly line to develop the educational packets. In all, they completed 1,850 packets during the 2 hours spent there.
 

Later, Red Crossers bring added safety to homeowners by installing free smoke alarms. On the day of an installation event, installers receive training in how to install the alarms and where to install them so that they are best positioned to detect the first traces of smoke. They know the importance of a working alarm is to provide immediate notification to residents in the event of a home fire so that they can safely escape. They are also trained in how to instruct residents using the Educational Packets to optimize the impact of their visit resulting in making each home safer for its occupants.
 

The new smoke alarms come with a 10-year battery life. These alarms should be tested every 6 months just like all other smoke alarms in residential housing.
 

Meyn said the escape plan they recommend to homeowners includes two escape routes from each bedroom, two doors to exit the house, and two minutes to get out, as well as a place to meet up outside of the home after they have gotten out. That’s why the American Red Cross of Louisiana is rallying volunteers to install free smoke alarms in homes that don’t have them, and educating people about home fire safety, as part of our nationwide Sound The Alarm events and Home Fire campaign, which helps save lives.
 

Ninety percent of the staff of the American Red Cross is made up of volunteers. We could not complete our mission without them.

Join Us! Just one day of your life could change someone else’s forever.