The American Red Cross will be holding a “Sound the Alarm” event in Allentown on Saturday, April 28, part of the nationwide Red Cross effort to help reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by home fires.

Some 50 Red Cross volunteers and local partners, including members of the Allentown Fire Department administration, Local 302 of the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) and the Allentown Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (AVMRC) will mobilize at East Side Fire Station at 718 North Irving Street at 9:00am.  From there they will be canvassing neighborhoods, installing free smoke alarms, replacing batteries in existing alarms and helping families create escape plans. 

Free smoke alarm installations by the volunteer teams will take place until 2:00pm installing 10-year lithium battery powered smoke alarms.  Previous efforts in the city have resulted in the installation of 250-new smoke alarms.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of having smoke alarms in homes,” said Allentown Fire Chief Lee Laubach.  “And I can’t thank the Red Cross enough for driving this effort.  Smoke detectors are a proven life saver.  They are easy to install and maintain.”

The Red Cross responds to nearly 64,000 disasters a year, the majority of which are home fires. Working smoke alarms in a home cut the risk of death by half, and having an escape plan further improves the odds of survival. The Red Cross wants to end these tragedies and save lives, that’s why the Home Fire Campaign was launched in 2014.

According to the Red Cross, across the country, the Campaign is making a difference. As of mid-April, the Red Cross and its partners across the country have saved at least 416 lives. The Red Cross has installed more than 1,500 smoke alarms in the Lehigh Valley-Bucks County region in the last year.

Information Provided By:
Mike Moore
Communications Manager
Mayor’s Office
435 Hamilton Street
Allentown, PA 18101
Mike.Moore@allentownpa.gov
http://www.AllentownPA.gov

 

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