HELENA — Helena Fire Station One and the Helena American Red Cross have joined forces to create the “Sound the Alarm, Save a Life” campaign, which starts May 3 and 4.
Free smoke detectors will be installed by local firemen, Red Cross members, and community volunteers.
Volunteers and firemen will go door-to-door installing the detectors for proper fire safety.
Testing will be provided, including a fire safety tutorial on how to map-out your home and find all necessary exits during a house fire.
Red Cross told MTN they hope to have over 100,000 detectors installed across the United States.
Susan Hawthorne, co-chair for disaster action team of Lewis and Clark County for the American Red Cross, explained the detectors were provided thanks to generous donors to the Red Cross.
Hawthorne said, “We hope to install 200 smoke detectors around Helena.”
The average escape time to safely evacuate a burning building is roughly less than two minutes. To put it in perspective, that’s about the same amount of time it takes to brush your teeth.
Interim Fire Chief Ken Woods said, “Having good smoke detectors in your home is vital to your ability to survive a fire in your home and wake you up because a lot of people actually die in their sleep and they never even have a chance to escape from their home.”
The volunteer teams will visit from 2-5 p.m. on May 3 and 9-12 p.m. on May 4.
For more information on how to register for a smoke detector, please visit here.
-Reported by Christine Sullivan/MTN News
