Learning From the Past

David Ullman, Red Cross writer

For Mark Ryder of Milford, Maine, home fire safety is a prominent aspect of his life. Living in rural Maine, Ryder is aware that, when there are limited local resources, the homeowner must take advantage of every fire safety and fire prevention program offered in his community. When he learned that the American Red Cross had scheduled a community smoke alarm installation event for northern and eastern Maine in late January, he immediately signed up.

As part of this Home Fire Campaign, the Red Cross hosts Sound the Alarm events, daylong installation events in at-risk communities where teams of Red Cross volunteers install free smoke alarms and provide critical home fire safety education to help prevent future tragedies.   

Mark Ryder with Red Crosser Charles Hall

Ryder and his daughters, survivors of two catastrophic home fires, understand the importance of having smoke alarms and a fire safety plan. While one volunteers installs and tests the alarms, the other volunteer works with the homeowner to create an evacuation plan and review lifesaving home fire safety tips. 

“I lost my first house to an electrical fire because of a space heater in the front family room,” recalled Ryder. “The second home I lost to a fire was a house that had a built on garage, which is where the fire started. Luckily, everybody got out before the fire took the house. They were both very hard situations to go through. This being my third house I’m very glad to have this program.”

As with so many homes in northern New England, the Ryder’s house was built before hard-wired smoke alarms with battery backup became a requirement of construction. The alarms installed by the Red Cross are sealed battery powered units, capable of operating for up to ten years. 

Installing the new smoke alarms is not without challenges.  Homeowners can be hesitant to request an installation visit or have concerns about the installation.  The installation teams discuss the homeowner’s concerns and develop a satisfactory solution. 

During a Red Cross installation visit, trained volunteers will assess the age, condition and placement of current smoke alarms. They will replace any alarms that are more than five years ago, while ensuring those less than five years old are in good, working order. 

Senior Red Cross Disaster Program Manager Charles Hall explained the hurdles at Ryder’s house, “It was a log cabin, really authentic. It was beautiful. The question was, ‘Where do we make holes?’  My challenge was making the homeowner happy and considering his requests while placing the alarms in appropriate locations. A homeowner may ask, ‘Can we put it over here?’  And if it works, then we’re fine. We still made the house safer and that was our goal.” 

Charles Hall meeting with smoke alarm installers

The Red Cross recommends installing smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, and inside and outside of all bedrooms and sleeping areas.

“It's a wonderful program and a great opportunity,” Ryder affirmed. “I think everybody should do it. The Red Cross volunteers came in, set up the smoke alarms and left. It probably took 20 minutes. They're very knowledgeable about where to place them and how they're supposed to be set up.  It's just a great program to protect your family.”

Executive Director of Northern and Eastern Maine Caroline King summed up the day’s event, “It went awesome and why? Because we talked to people in our community and make sure that every home had working smoke alarms. None of the homes we visited today had any working smoke alarms which scares me. I will sleep better tonight knowing that those families all have working smoke alarms.” 

To learn more about the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign or to schedule a smoke alarm installation, contact us at 1-800-464-6692 or visit www.redcross.org/EndHomeFiresNNE.