Grantee Spotlight: Red Cross Smoke Detector Program Saves Lives Locally

The St. Joseph Community Health Foundation awarded a $15.000 grant from the Burn Care and Prevention Fund to the Red Cross for their Home Fire Campaign in 2017. The aim of this campaign was to prevent local fire related deaths by installing smoke detectors, checking detector batteries, and establishing escape plans with residents.

This investment paid off. The family ( pictured above including two children, ages one and three, grandmother not pictured ) escaped a fire in their Fort Wayne home after Red Cross-installed smoke alarms alerted them that it was time to get out.

The fire began in the living room and went undetected at first; the residents thought they smelled something but assumed the smell came from construction work outside. But when the smoke alarms went off the family sprang into action. They followed the escape plan they had developed, with help from Red Cross volunteers who visited their home and installed the smoke detectors just five months before. Three generations of family members were saved from the fire, highlighting the critical importance of lifesaving smoke detectors and fire safety education.