American Red Cross Seeking Volunteers To Install Smoke Alarms

[FARGO, N.D., May 2, 2023] — The American Red Cross is seeking volunteers to help install 300 free smoke alarms for local families during a Sound the Alarm home fire safety event in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks on Saturday, May 13, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

“Sound the Alarm is a rewarding way to give back and directly help local families,” said Kevin Mehrer, executive director for the American Red Cross serving Eastern North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota. “It’s a day of coming together to support one another, especially those most at-risk for home fires.”

Volunteer
The Red Cross is rallying volunteers – and groups of volunteers – in the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks area. No prior experience is needed. People can register now at soundthealarm.org/mndaks.

Training will be provided at the Grand Forks Public Safety Center before volunteer teams — with members of the Red Cross and community partners [Grand Forks Fire Department and East grand Forks Fire Department] to install smoke alarms and help them create a two-minute fire escape plan. People need to wear comfy walking shoes. Breakfast, lunch and snacks, plus a free T-shirt equipment and a map will be provided.

“It’s a great feeling to know that you can do something in your local community, and you just know that you’re making a difference,” said Lowell Perman, Red Cross volunteer who Grand Forks Public Safety Center helped install smoke alarms in the region last year. “What was really amazing to me was many of the smoke alarms we replace have missing pieces or were just too old and didn’t work – giving people a false sense of security.”

If you need a smoke alarm
Residents in the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks area can visit soundthealarm.org/mndaks to schedule an appointment for a free smoke alarm installation during this Red Cross Sound the Alarm event.

Sound the Alarm

Home fires claim seven lives every day in the U.S. — but having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death by half. Since the Home Fire Campaign launched in 2014, the American Red Cross has made incredible strides to serve the communities that need us most, installing more than 2.5 million smoke alarms, saving at least 1,583 lives and making more than 1 million households safer across the country.

In only the past three years, in the Minnesota and Dakotas Region the Red Cross volunteers and partners have:

• Installed more than 6,400 free smoke alarms
• Made more than 2,200 households safer
• Educated more than 1,300 children through youth preparedness programs

Donations help provide free services

Because of generous donations, all services are free and available for people in need. Can’t join the event? Donate to the Red Cross at soundthealarm.org/mndaks help people prepare for, respond to and recover from home fires — which account for most of the U.S. disasters that the Red Cross responds to every eight minutes. Over the past three years, Red Cross volunteers responded to more than 3,000 home fires in the Minnesota and Dakotas region – helping more than 11,000 neighbors in need.

This work is made possible thanks to generous financial donations from regional partners: This work is made possible thanks to generous financial donations from regional partners: Border States Electric, Medica, Scheels, Ames Construction, Gate City Bank, Nodak Insurance, Marathon, Lewis Drug, and Sanford Health.