LIMA, OH (WLIO) - A working smoke alarm can be the difference between life and death when a home fire strikes.
That from the American Red Cross as they prepare to canvas in the Lima area this Saturday to promote fire safety and their annual "Sound the Alarm" event. They will be in the area of the Chapter House on Collett Street, placing door hangers to inform residents that volunteers will be out Saturday, May 18th, to install smoke alarms and how to sign up for one. You will get some fire safety education information as well.
"You don't necessarily think about something like a home fire until it happens to you, and we want people to be prepared ahead of time to have an evacuation plan. So we talk about what that would look like. So, for example, you need to think about two different ways to leave each room in your home. So depending where you are when a smoke alarm goes off, you need to have multiple exits from that room. So we talk through those things with the family; help them prepare a 2-minute escape plan because often you have 2 minutes or less to get out of a house safely from a home fire," explained Jennifer Sexton, executive director of the NE Indiana Region of the American Red Cross.
The Red Cross is also looking for volunteers to help with the installation of the smoke alarms. You can sign up at https://www.redcross.org/sound-the-alarm.html to either receive a smoke alarm or help install them.
