For Immediate Release: 10/11/2016 2:35 pm
Worcester, MA (October 11, 2016) - The Worcester Fire Department and the American Red Cross of Massachusetts will team up with hundreds of volunteers to install more than 1,200 smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in Worcester homes, Chief Geoffrey Gardell and Ralph Boyd, Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts of the Red Cross announced.
On Saturday, October 15th, in collaboration with the Worcester Fire Department and the City of Worcester, the Massachusetts Red Cross will come together for its first major smoke alarm and carbon monoxide installation rally. This event is one of a number of rallies being held across the nation in celebration of National Fire Preparedness Week. The goal of the campaign overall is to save lives by installing smoke alarms.
The goal in Worcester is to visit 300 homes in neighborhoods across the City and to distribute more than 1,200 smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
"October 15 is the last day of Fire Prevention Week and this year's theme - 'Don’t Wait! Check the Date! Replace smoke alarms every ten years' - reminds us to replace aging smoke alarms," said Worcester Fire Chief Geoffrey Gardell. "Working with the Red Cross, we're excited to be able to help Worcester residents make sure they have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms as we head into the heating season."
"This is part of a national effort by the Red Cross to reduce deaths and injuries from home fires by 25 percent by October 2019," said Ralph Boyd, Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross of Massachusetts. "We're excited to show Worcester the great service spirit that is the Massachusetts Red Cross."
The program will offer residents a free home safety visit by a fire department member and a trained volunteer who will check for working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, make sure they haven't expired, and discuss home escape planning with residents. If new alarms are needed, they will install them. If no one is home, volunteers will leave door hangers with information on how to set up an appointment to get their free smoke or carbon monoxide alarm.
Volunteers are still being accepted. Those interested can sign up for one or both of two shifts - 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM, and noon to 4:30 PM - by emailing Dorothy.Berard@redcross.org or calling the Red Cross Home Fire desk at (617) 274-5277. You can choose to fill one of three team roles, as a device installer, safety educator or home visit documenter. Lunch will be provided.
"Last winter, 31 people lost their lives to fires in the Commonwealth and 55 percent of those people had no working smoke alarms," said Chief Gardell. "Those victims probably thought fire wouldn't happen to them, but in a fire, seconds count. Working smoke alarms provide the early warning of danger so you can use your escape plan to get to safety."
