The Red Cross will partner with the Escambia County Fire Rescue firefighters on Saturday, October 11. Red Cross volunteer teams will canvass neighborhoods to meet with residents to distribute fire safety information and coordinate the installation of smoke detectors by trained firefighters.
The biggest disaster threat to American families isn’t floods, hurricanes or tornadoes; it’s fire.
The American Red Cross of Northwest Florida responded to 173 disasters and assisted 411 families last fiscal year. Nearly all of these were home fires. Fire is everyone’s fight and the Red Cross urges people to know what steps they can take to help prevent fires.
SMOKE ALARMS SAVE LIVES -- Install smoke alarms on every level of the home and outside each sleeping area. Put a smoke alarm inside every bedroom. Because smoke rises, put the alarms on the ceiling or high on the wall. Test the smoke alarms regularly. Install new batteries every year. Get new smoke alarms every 10 years.
MAKE A PLAN -- The Red Cross recommends that households develop a fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year with everyone who lives in the home. People should know two ways to escape from every room and designate a safe place to meet outside the home in case of a fire. Other safety steps include:
- Follow the escape plan in case of fire. Get out, stay out, and call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number.
- Install smoke alarms on every level of the house and inside bedrooms.
- Replace batteries in smoke alarms at least once a year. Test each alarm monthly by pushing the test button.
- Download the Red Cross First Aid App to get access to life-saving information on what to do for common, everyday first aid emergencies including burns. The app is available in the Apple app store and on Google Play for Android.
Visit www.redcross.org for more steps you can take to lessen the chance of a fire in your home.
To sign up to lend a hand, please call Doug Watson, Program Director at (850) 432-7601 or come to Fire Station 17 at 1700 N. "W" Street in Pensacola at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 11.
About the American Red Cross: The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.
