Sound the Alarm: Saving Lives One Smoke Alarm at a Time - Southeast Tennessee - May 2018

Everyone has seen them—small circular devices that dwell on our ceilings, walls, in every bedroom and major living area. Most everyone has heard them on the occasion of a burnt meal or a fire drill. However, these gadgets, smoke alarms, though discreet and seemingly unimportant, were the driving factor for a gathering of over a hundred Red Cross volunteers and community members on April 28, 2018 in Red Bank, Tennessee. According to the Red Cross website, 7 deaths occur every day because of house fires, and Red Cross volunteers all over the nation, and specifically in Red Bank, gathered to “Sound the Alarm,” and canvassed from door-to-door to save lives.

 Multiple teams of at least three people—a smoke alarm installer, an information documenter, and a fire safety instructor, knocked on doors around the Red Bank community with a goal to install 350 smoke alarms, a truly impressive and life-saving goal. One of these volunteers, Sarah Herdon, a local State Farm agent, expressed the importance of these installations. As an insurance agent, Herdon recalled the destruction that occurs when a fire devastates a family: “Though a family may lose their home and all of their possessions, the greatest devastation truly is the loss of life.” This loss of life, unfortunately, occurs all the time because of house fires. Red Bank fireman, Josh Hamill, has seen firsthand the loss that a fire can cause: “Last week, 6 people died in one house fire because of no smoke detectors.” The grieving for the loss of these lives undoubtedly influenced this team of officers to work with Red Cross to keep lives safe—by lunch time, the team of firemen had already installed 17 detectors.

Even to Red Bank community members who had never experienced house fires, the Sound the Alarm teams were a blessing. One long-time resident, Adriann Pope, had lived in her home for 35 years without a functioning smoke alarm in her bedroom. She expressed: “I didn’t think I needed one there.” Another member of the same neighborhood who was finishing the construction on his new home had no smoke alarms and was eager to have Ken Cox,  Red Cross volunteer, install one for him.

Not only has Sound the Alarm impacted those with new smoke alarms, but it has also impacted the volunteers: “I almost feel a little selfish volunteering because I feel so good afterwards,” said one volunteer. Sound the Alarm left homeowners feeling safer and volunteers feeling fulfilled. At the end of the day, hundreds of members of the Red Bank community had new smoke alarms and had been educated on fire safety, and hundreds of volunteers had contributed to a life-saving cause.