Red Cross to Install Free Smoke Alarms on Maui

Red Cross volunteers will be installing free smoke alarms in the Kahului and Wailuku areas from April 24 to 27, between 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Their efforts will focus on vulnerable populations like the elderly, disabled, needy and families with young children.

This is part of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, in which volunteers will also be teaching residents how to prevent and escape from home fires.

Currently the Red Cross is accepting appointment requests from residents. Please call the Maui Red Cross Office at 244-0051, ext. 0, before April 23 to leave a message that includes name and best contact phone number.  A volunteer will follow up by text or phone to schedule the appointment. Smoke alarm installations are by appointment only.

Every eight minutes, the American Red Cross responds to a disaster- and the vast majority of these are home fires. “Home fires can be a deadly threat because they happen so quickly,” said Maui Red Cross Director Michele Blair. In the United States, home fires kill more people each year than all other natural disasters combined.

Tragically, an average of seven Americans die in home fires every day, and working smoke alarms cut the rate of death in half.  Since the inception of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, Red Cross volunteers have installed over one million smoke alarms and 550 lives have been saved.

The American Red Cross is also asking every household in America to take some simple steps that can help prevent home fires and save lives.  According to the Red Cross, working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half.

INSTALL AND TEST SMOKE ALARMS:

• Place smoke alarms on every level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms.
• Test smoke alarms once a month.
• Change the batteries at least once a year – if your model requires it.
• Replace smoke alarms every ten years.

MAKE A PLAN.

People may only have two minutes to escape when a fire occurs. The Red Cross recommends that households develop a fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year. Everyone should know two ways to escape from every room and designate a safe place to meet outside the home in case of a fire. Discuss the plan with all household members and practice it until everyone – including children – can escape in less than two minutes