Over the course of less than three hours on Saturday, March 30, volunteers and partners with the American Red Cross of the Mid-Hudson Valley visited dozens of homes and installed 101 free smoke alarms for local residents during a Sound the Alarm event in Wappingers Falls.

“Over the last three years, home fires have impacted more than 200 residents of Wappingers Falls,” said Kelly Formoso, executive director for the American Red Cross of the Mid-Hudson Valley. “We are grateful to each of the community partners who saw the need for fire safety training and resources in this area and joined us last weekend to Sound the Alarm. It was a true community effort that could very well save a life.”

To carry out this community-wide fire safety and smoke alarm installation event, the Red Cross worked in close partnership with Wappingers Junior High School, Wappingers Central School District, Rebuilding Together Dutchess County, the Village of Wappingers Falls, ServiceMaster Restore by Nest, and Gordon Fire Equipment. Several of these partners will be honored for their support of local Red Cross efforts at An Evening with Your Local Red Cross on May 9 in Poughkeepsie.

“It was an honor working with the Red Cross to help lead the charge in saving lives in our community,” said Michael Corsano, assistant principal at Wappingers Junior High School. “On behalf of the Wappingers Central School District and Wappingers Junior High School, thank you.”

In addition to the partners mentioned above, local restaurants including Buffalo Wild Wings, County Fare, Antonella's Restaurant & Pizzeria, Jade Palace, West Main Kitchen Bar & Grill and Longobardi Restaurant & Pizzeria helped to feed all the volunteers who joined the effort.

Sound the Alarm events are part of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, launched in 2014 to prevent needless tragedies from home fires. So far, the campaign has reached more than 1.7 million people and saved more than 550 lives nationwide. In the Eastern New York Region, Red Cross volunteers and partners have installed more than 18,000 free smoke alarms and saved at least 19 local lives – 7 in Dutchess County – to date.

The Red Cross will continue to offer free smoke alarms across the Mid-Hudson Valley on a rolling basis. People can support the Home Fire Campaign by volunteering, making a financial donation, testing their smoke alarms regularly, practicing their fire escape plans, and spreading the word about fire safety. To learn more, or to request free smoke alarms from the Red Cross in the Mid-Hudson Valley, please visitsoundthealarm.org/eny or call (845) 249-4228.

Pictured above: Red Cross volunteers and partners gather at Wappingers Junior High School to Sound the Alarm on Saturday, March 30, 2019.