The Wilmington Fire Department and the Cape Fear Chapter of the American Red Cross are teaming up with local businesses, organizations and community leaders and residents to install working smoke alarms in homes on Saturday.
The event is part of the American Red Cross Home Fires Campaign, which aims to install home smoke alarms in neighborhoods across the country that have high numbers of fires. Sixty percent of all deaths in house fires happen in homes that do not have a functioning fire alarm, according to the National Association of Fire Investigators.
The Wilmington installation rally will be this Saturday, July 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers will meet at Fire Station #3, located at 3933 Princess Place Drive, for registration and a training session at 9 a.m. Following that, they will be sent out into designated neighborhoods with a goal of putting 250-300 smoke alarms into homes currently lacking them.
Residents in need of one can contact the Wilmington Fire Department at (910) 343-4784. Those who already have smoke alarms in their homes are asked to check their functionality and also to have and practice a fire escape plan to increase the chances of preventing fatalities in case of an emergency.
Those looking to participate and volunteer in Saturday’s event can click here to register or contact James Jarvis, the Disaster Program Specialist for the American Red Cross Cape Fear Chapter, at (910) 512-2290 or james.jarvis3@redcross.org.
