Red Cross installs free smoke alarms in Santa Barbara homes

Over 100 volunteers with the Red Cross installed about 400 free smoke alarms in Santa Barbara homes Saturday afternoon.

The Sound the Alarm event is part of the Home Fire Campaign which helps educate families on the importance of fire safety. Since the program began, Red Cross volunteers have installed over one million smoke alarms in over 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states.

“In light of the recent disasters that devasted our community, emergency preparedness is on everyone’s mind,” said Kimberly Coley, Red Cross Executive Director.

In addition to fire safety, the Red Cross also educates families in Carbon Monoxide detection.

“CO gases don’t rise as quickly as smoke does,” said Robert Strokek, Logistics Lead. “If you have your detector at the ground level or the plug level where you plug them in, you will catch the gas early enough before you sleep away.”

The Red Cross says carbon monoxide detectors work best at ground level and can be picked up at local hardware stores.

In 2017, the Pacific Coast chapter of the Red Cross helped over 70 families affected by home fires.

For more information on the Red Cross, click here.