Local American Red Cross volunteers are helping two people after a home fire on Keats Ave. in Howard Lake, MN, on January 4. Following devastating home fires, Red Cross volunteers connect with those affected and provide assistance for their immediate emergency needs, including emotional support and help with long-term recovery planning.  

National Home Fire Campaign 

Seven times a day someone in this country dies in a fire. The Red Cross has launched a nationwide campaign to reduce the number of home fire deaths and injuries by 25 percent over the next five years. As part of the campaign the Red Cross is joining fire departments and community groups nationwide to install smoke alarms in communities with high numbers of fires. The Red Cross also is asking every household in America to take the two simple steps that can save lives: checking their existing smoke alarms and practicing fire drills at home. To request a free smoke alarm installation for yourself or a loved one, call (612) 460-3674, visit getasmokealarm.org, or text “ALARM” to 844-811-0100. 

For more information about home fire safety, including safety checklists, printable fire escape plans and more, visit redcross.org/mn/homefires. Download the Red Cross First Aid App at redcross.org/apps to access life-saving information on what to do for common, everyday first aid emergencies including burns. 

How you can help 

The Minnesota Region of the American Red Cross responds to more than 600 disasters every year, most are home fires. By empowering local volunteers, the American Red Cross is able to fulfill its mission to prevent and alleviate suffering in the face of emergencies. Become a Red Cross volunteer in your community, visit redcross.org/mn. You can help people affected by disasters like home fires and countless other crises by making a donation to support American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small. Click redcross.org/mn, call 1-800-RED CROSS or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.  Contributions may also be sent to the American Red Cross serving Central Minnesota, 1301 W. St. Germain St., St. Cloud, MN 56301.

About the American Red Cross 

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and counsels victims of disasters; provides almost 40 percent of the nation's blood supply; teaches lifesaving skills; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its humanitarian mission. The American Red Cross serving Central Minnesota serves more than 700,000 people in Benton, Big Stone, Chippewa, Douglas, Grant, Kanabec, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Pipestone, Pope, Sherburne, Stearns, Stevens, Swift, Todd, Traverse and Wright counties. For more information, please visit redcross.org/mn. Like us on Facebook: American Red Cross serving Central Minnesota.