Red Cross & Quincy Fire Department Seeking Volunteers

The American Red Cross and Quincy Fire Department are seeking volunteers to help with a Home Fire Campaign event in Quincy on Saturday, April 16, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Volunteers will work in teams of three and make door-to-door visits in predetermined neighborhoods installing free smoke alarms and helping residents develop a home fire escape plan.

Community groups, civic organizations, businesses and individuals are all encouraged to participate in this lifesaving event. No previous experience is required and volunteers will receive training the day of the event. Volunteers can register online by visiting the Home Fire Campaign page at redcross.org/csil, emailing Samuel.Evans@redross.org or by calling the Red Cross at 217-222-2477, ext. 7304.

Seven times a day someone in this country dies in a home fire. Countless others suffer injuries. To combat these tragic statistics, the Red Cross has launched a nationwide campaign to reduce the number of deaths and injuries due to home fires by 25 percent by the end of 2019.

The Home Fire Campaign is happening all over the country and involves Red Cross workers joining with local fire departments and community groups to visit neighborhoods at high risk for fires. Those visits include educating people about fire safety through door-to-door visits and installation of free smoke alarms. Home Fire Campaign volunteers have installed nearly 250,000 free smoke alarms resulting in 69 lives saved, including a family of five from Quincy.

“As part of the Home Fire Campaign, volunteers installed smoke alarms in the home of a young family of five here in Quincy,” said Amber Wood, Executive Director of the American Red Cross Serving West Central Illinois. “The volunteers helped the family to create a home fire escape plan and encouraged the family to regularly check the smoke alarms and practice their home escape plan. Earlier this winter, the newly installed smoke alarms alerted the family to a fire in their home and thankfully, the family was able to escape.”

To learn more about the Home Fire Campaign including how to create a home fire escape plan for your family, please visit redcross.org.