Starting young: Mainer Maya Moser learns about home fire safety during a visit from the Red Cross

By Caroline King, Red Cross Northern and Eastern Maine executive director

Maya Moser and Ray Rogers

October is Fire Prevention Safety Month and American Red Cross disaster volunteers like Ray Rogers, of Orrington, Maine, are ready and willing to visit your home to install free smoke alarms.  Ray recently joined a team of board members and volunteers from Northern and Eastern Maine to visit homes as part of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign.

Since October 2014, the Home Fire Campaign, working with community partners, has saved at least 2,169 lives by educating families about fire safety, helping them create escape plans and installing free smoke alarms in high-risk areas across the country.

Ray and the team in Penobscot County installed 34 alarms on a single day in Hampden, Bangor, Orono and Old Town.  

 During one home visit in Hampden, Ray met 5-year-old Maya Moser and her family. 

Maya, with a little help from her mom Skye Awalt, learned how to draw a picture of their house and create a fire escape plan so everyone in their home is prepared in the event of a home fire. Ray then installed three new smoke alarms in Maya’s home – and showed her the loud noise these alarms make by pressing the “test” button. Maya practiced what to do when she hears the loud beeps and now her whole family is safer as we head into the winter season.   

American Red Cross of Northern New England reminds everyone home fires claim more lives in a typical year than all natural disasters combined. To help protect your household, test your smoke alarms each month and practice your escape plan until everyone can get out in less than two minutes. 

“Fire now travels faster through homes, largely due to popular open-concept layouts and synthetic materials,” said John Montes, Red Cross regional disaster officer. “The sooner an alarm alerts you to a fire, the sooner you can get out. This is critical because fire experts say you may have less than two minutes to escape a burning home before it’s too late.”

Tips for creating your home fire escape plan and practicing your 2-minute drill: 

• Everyone in your household should know two ways to escape from each room in your home.
• Smoke is dangerous. Get low and go! 
• Decide where to meet once you get outside. Select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as a neighbor’s home or landmark like a specific tree in your front yard, where everyone knows to meet. 
• Get out and stay out. Never go back inside for people, pets or things. 
• If a fire starts, you may have less than two minutes to get to safety. Time your fire drill and find out: what’s your escape time?
• While practicing your escape plan, teach children what a smoke alarm sounds like. Talk about fire safety and what to do in an emergency. 

Smoke alarm safety: 

• Place smoke alarms on each level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas. 
• In addition to testing your alarms once a month, change the batteries at least once a year, if your model requires it. 
• Also check the manufacturer’s date of your smoke alarms. If they’re 10 years or older, they need to be replaced because the sensor becomes less sensitive over time. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. 

Last year across Northern New England, our dedicated volunteers and community partners more than 1,900 free smoke alarms in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Visit redcross.org/EndHomeFiresNNE for more information, including a home fire escape plan to create and practice with your household. You can also download our free Emergency app (search “American Red Cross” in app stores).

GET HELP

APPOINTMENTS: To request a free smoke alarm installation appointment in your area, visit https://www.redcross.org/local/me-nh-vt/about-us/our-work/home-fire-campaign/smoke-alarm-request-nh-vt.html. 

DONATE: Thanks to donations, our services are free and available for all those in need. Help families prepare for, respond to and recover from home fires by giving at SoundTheAlarm.org or texting the word HOMEFIRE to 90999 to make a $10 donation. 

HOME FIRE CAMPAIGN SAVE LIVES  To learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved, visit redcross.org/homefires.