STAMFORD, CT – The American Red Cross Connecticut Chapter and the Stamford Fire Department (SFD) are making an effort to improve fire safety in Stamford residences by kicking off the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign. This fire safety campaign is offering Stamford residents free smoke alarms and the installation teams are sharing important fire safety and preparedness Information.

“We are pleased to be partnering with the American Red Cross and their volunteers in this very important lifesaving program,” said Mayor David Martin. “I want residents to take advantage of this Home Fire Preparedness Campaign to protect themselves and their loved ones. Smoke detectors save lives. Just a few weeks ago, a family safely made it out of their house during an overnight fire, which the father attributed to the early alert of the smoke detectors in their home.”

At no cost to residents, the SFD/American Red Cross teams are offering some simple changes in the home that will help protect family and loved ones against fire. In addition, the team will install FREE smoke alarm(s) within your home as part of a Fire Preparedness Campaign to reduce the number of injuries and deaths due to fire.

Teams are installing smoke alarms in homes as requested. Today alone the teams installed approximately 130 smoke detectors to protect Stamford residences. The teams are helping families understand the importance of fire safety and are helping them develop personalized family escape plans to use in the event a fire breaks out in their home.

Fire Chief Trevor Roach added, “Early detection of a fire with an escape plan is vital to safely surviving a fire in the home. The risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms.”

The American Red Cross Home Fire Preparedness Campaign brings Red Cross workers together with local fire departments and community partners to share fire safety tools and tips in home visits with residents. Those visits include educating people about fire safety through one-on-one conversations and free installation of smoke alarms.

Ted Jankowski, Director of Public Safety, Health and Welfare stated, “A properly installed and maintained smoke alarm is the only thing in the home that can alert individuals and families of fire 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are urging residents to take advantage of this program and request a smoke alarm today.”

Residents are urged to request an appointment by calling (877) 287-3327, option 1, or go to http://www.redcross.org  Please answer ALL the questions to request a visit and our team will follow up to schedule an appointment for your FREE in-home smoke alarm installation.

During home visits, residents will receive:

• Installed smoke alarms if no working smoke alarms are present in your home
• Guidance in the development of a Family Disaster Plan
• Valuable emergency preparedness tips and information
• Installed smoke alarms if no working smoke alarms are present in your home

There are several things families and individuals can do to increase their chances of surviving a fire:

• If you do not have smoke alarms in your home, install them. At a minimum, put one on every level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. If you do have smoke alarms, test them today. If they don’t work, replace them.
• Make sure that everyone in the family knows how to get out of every room and how to get out of the home in less than two minutes.
• Practice that plan. What’s the household’s escape time?

Please remember that a working smoke alarm provides for early detection and early warning which significantly increases the individual’s chance of surviving a deadly home fire.