Posted by: thepinetree on 03/26/2015 12:09 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 03/26/2015 12:10 PM
Expires: 01/01/2020 12:00 AM
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American Red Cross Fire Safety Campaign Aims to Raise Awareness, Reduce Deaths and Injuries in Murphys Fire District
Murphys, CA...On Saturday, March 28th, Red Cross volunteers will join members of the Murphys Fire Department to visit local neighborhoods and help residents be fire safe. Volunteers will go door-to-door sharing important fire safety information, and also install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors if and where needed. This community canvass is part of a national Red Cross campaign aimed to reduce home fire-related deaths and injuries by as much as 25 percent over the next five years. The campaign seeks to increase the use of smoke alarms in neighborhoods with higher frequencies of home fires and to encourage all Americans to develop and practice their fire escape plans...
“Smoke alarms cut the risk of death from a fire in half, which is why it is critical for all households to have them and test them regularly,” said Kathleen Weis, Chief Executive Officer for the Red Cross Gold Country Region. “It is critical that residents take action to reduce their risk and improve their safety in the event of a home fire. Simply testing your smoke alarms and practicing fire drills at home can save lives.”
Dennis Lewis, resident of West Point and lead Red Cross volunteer for Calaveras County says, “In the last year, we have been called to respond to at least one home fire in Calaveras County every month. It’s important to have the right tools and information to keep you and your family safe.”
Thus far, Red Cross volunteers have been to Copperopolis and plan to visit each Fire Protection District in Calaveras County in coming months. Dennis Lewis, the Red Cross Mass Care Lead for Calaveras, says, “If a smoke alarm saves one person, our efforts are successful”.
Four Fire Safety Steps
There are several things families and individuals can do to increase their chances of surviving a fire:
• If someone doesn’t have smoke alarms, install them. At a minimum, put one on every level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Local building codes vary and there may be additional requirements where someone lives.
• If someone does have alarms, test them today. If they don’t work, replace them.
• Make sure that everyone in the family knows how to get out of every room and how to get out of the home in less than two minutes. Tell your children it’s okay to break a window to escape a fire.
• Practice that plan. What’s the household’s escape time?
The Red Cross in Calaveras County responds to about 1 home fire every other month and last year opened 3 evacuation centers in Calaveras and assisted with the King and Sand fires.
People can visit www.redcross.org to find out more about how to protect themselves and their loved ones from fire or contact our local Sierra-Delta Red Cross Chapter at (916) 993-7070 to find out the location of local smoke alarm installation events.
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