Area residents –– including college students –– will band together on Saturday to help reduce the number of potential home fire-related deaths and injuries in the Bradford area.
Their plan? To install 300 smoke detectors in homes and to talk about the importance of having and practicing home fire escape plans.
The effort, part of the Prepare Western Pennsylvania Initiative, will bring together the American Red Cross and students from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Volunteers will head door-to-door, from roughly Onofrio Street to the east to North Center Street to the west and School Street to the north to Campus Drive to the south.
“The whole process typically takes approximately 15 minutes, depending on the size of the home,” said Red Cross volunteer Polly Pierce of Kane, who has helped with other fire alarm campaigns. “We also offer literature about making a plan and practicing it with your family, just like in school. Preparedness is essential.”
The Red Cross works with fire departments to determine areas where fires have occurred and where fire alarms are less likely to be present, said American Red Cross Western Pennsylvania Region spokesman Dan Tobin. Those areas are targeted, he said.
“All too often we hear of people who perish in home fires,” said Pam Masi, executive director for Red Cross Northwestern Pennsylvania. “Having a working smoke alarm can increase your chances of making it to safety by over 50 percent.”
In Western Pennsylvania, in the last few years, more than 20,000 fire alarms have been installed in homes, Tobin said. He called the program great, adding that residents are grateful to receive help.
Nationally, the program has saved more than 260 lives, with the families fleeing the home thanks to an alarm. In western Pennsylvania, there is one documented life-saving case, near Johnstown, because of a fire alarm, Tobin said.
“It’s a game changer. Smoke alarms save lives. Plain and simple,” Pierce said. “They also protect against damage to your home and injury to yourself. Every day seven people die in home fires. The death rate in homes with smoke alarms is cut in half.”
Tobin ventured to guess that 50 to 60 people would be helping out with this weekend’s effort. Area residents are also invited to take part.
A group will assemble in Room 300 in Fisher Hall at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford at 9:15 a.m. Saturday before heading into the community at 11:30 a.m.
“We are so very fortunate to have such dedicated volunteers, who are willing to take time out of their busy schedules to improve the lives of others in our community,” Masi said. “Due to their efforts, the Red Cross is able to help people to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters big and small.”
