Help the Red Cross install free smoke alarms in Idaho Falls
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IDAHO FALLS — The Red Cross of Idaho and East Oregon needs your help keeping families safe from home fires. Volunteers are needed to install free smoke alarms in Idaho Falls homes, according to a news release from the Red Cross.
“On June 3, volunteers will go door-to-door in Idaho Falls neighborhoods, installing free alarms and educating families about fire safety,” said the news release. The event will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the work you’ll do could help save lives.
On average, people have just two minutes to escape their homes safely during a fire, and working smoke alarms can make all the difference.
“Every day, seven people lose their lives in home fires across the country — often because they don’t have working smoke alarms and a plan how to escape during a home fire,” said Dianne Brush, a Red Cross disaster responder in Pocatello. “You can help change that by raising your hand and giving families the tools they need to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.”
Home fires are the nation’s most frequent disaster. They account for the vast majority of Red Cross disaster responses each year, according to the news release. In 2022 alone, the Red Cross responded to more than 250 home fires in Idaho and East Oregon and helped meet 783 people’s most-immediate needs following a fire by providing shelter, food, clothing and emotional support.
“The Idaho Falls Sound the Alarm event is part of a nationwide Red Cross effort to install free smoke alarms in homes in cities across the country this spring,” said the release. “Through its Home Fire Campaign, the Red Cross and its volunteers have installed more than 2.5 million smoke alarms and saved more than 1,700 lives since 2014.”
Officials noted that the Red Cross and its volunteers also will install free alarms in Nampa in June.
No experience is necessary to volunteer for this event, and training and lunch will be provided. Sign up to volunteer by visiting soundthealarm.org/idaho.
If you have questions about volunteering with Sound the Alarm or forming a volunteer team, call Dianne Brush at (208) 705-6419.
Those interested in becoming a Red Cross volunteer disaster responder can visit redcross.org/volunteer to sign up or get more information.