Red Cross kicks off new campaign to reduce home fire deaths and injuries

COLUMBIA - The American Red Cross kicks-off today a new campaign in South Carolina and throughout the country to reduce deaths and injuries from home fires by as much as 25 percent over the next five years.

The new Red Cross campaign focuses on increasing the use of smoke alarms in neighborhoods with high numbers of home fires and encouraging everyone to practice their fire escape plans

“Seven times a day someone in this country dies in a home fire and we have witnessed that tragedy right here our community,” said American Red Cross Central SC Chapter Executive Director Bill Cronin. “There are simple steps every household can take right now to prevent home fires and save lives.”

SIMPLE STEPS TO SAVE LIVES

The Red Cross is calling on everyone to take two simple steps that can save lives: check their existing smoke alarms and practice fire drills at home,

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

• If someone doesn’t have smoke alarms, install them. At a minimum, put one on every level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Local building codes vary and there may be additional requirements where someone lives.
• If someone does have 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?