CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Red Cross will be going through Clarksville Tennessee area off Dover Road to Lafayette Road and from Magnolia Drive to North Liberty Church Road on April, 29, 2017 starting at 8:00am to install smoke alarms in homes that need them and teach people about what they can do now to be prepared should a fire break out in their home.

Nationally, since the Home Fire Campaign was launched in October of 2014, the Red Cross and its campaign partners have helped save at least 77 lives and installed 290,000 smoke alarms in 4,900 cities and towns in all 50 states.

SIMPLE STEPS TO SAVE LIVES As part of the Home Fire Campaign, 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 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?

RED CROSS APPS People can learn how to help prevent a home fire and what to do if one occurs by downloading the Red Cross Emergency App. Children can have fun and learn how to prevent a home fire and other emergencies in the Monster Guard: Prepare for Emergencies App. The First Aid App provides expert advice including what to do for burns, broken bones and breathing and cardiac emergencies. The apps can be downloaded for free in app stores or at redcross.org/apps.

WHAT PEOPLE CAN DO People can visit redcross.org/homefires to find out more about how to protect themselves and their loved homes from fire. To find out more about the Home Fire Campaign in this area or to become a volunteer, contact Tere Kangas at tere.kangas@redcross.org.

CORPORATIONS HELP Generous donations from Nationwide, Duracell and The Wawa Foundation are supporting the American Red Cross Home Fire Campaign to reduce home fire deaths and injuries by 25 percent.