During a home visit, the Red Cross provides guidance for creating a Family Disaster Plan, emergency preparedness tips and information, smoke alarm installation if there are no working smoke alarms present in the home, and more. The Red Cross called these numbers “staggering.” It’s part of why the Red Cross is aiming to educate homeowners about fire safety.Ĭonducting free home visits is one way they’re doing this. So far this year, Red Cross said they have helped over 1,110 people in Wisconsin and the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan that have been affected by around 300 home fires. Over the last few months, Red Cross officials said they’ve seen an increase in home fires. On average, Red Cross officials said they respond to a home fire or other disasters every 8 minutes. “This amazing effort has been made possible by every volunteer, donor and supporter who teamed up to care for vulnerable families in our community.” “We are proud of our incredible work with community partners to help save lives by providing free smoke alarms in Madison as part of the national Home Fire Campaign,” said Kyle Kriegl, executive director of the Red Cross of Southwest Wisconsin. Six hundred more smoke alarms will be installed in the Madison community during the upcoming April event.

In Wisconsin, it’s helped install over 3,000 free smoke alarms and make over 1,400 households safer. Nationwide, the campaign has helped install 2.5 million free smoke alarms and make 1 million households safer. It’s a part of the organization’s Home Fire Campaign, which aims to save lives and prevent home fires.Īt least 1,583 lives have been saved nationwide - including three lives in Wisconsin - since the campaign’s launch in 2014, according to the Red Cross.

The Red Cross will provide free smoke alarms and home safety visits on Saturday, April 15 in Madison during a Sound the Alarm event.

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