LOCAL NEWS
Red Cross Promoting Emergency Preparedness During ‘Sound The Alarm’ Campaign
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – There are some basics parents want to make sure their children know when they’re very young — their chores, address and phone number, along with how to get out of the house safely in the event of an emergency.
April and May are the perfect time to run through your family’s escape plan from a potential house fire during the American Red Cross’s “Sound the Alarm” campaign.
The first resource you can check out is the Red Cross’s website, where you can hear from those who’ve lost everything but saved their own lives.
The Red Cross #SoundTheAlarm campaign has officially kicked off for 2021! While things look a little different this year due to #COVID19, we're still spreading the word about home fire safety: make a PLAN, PRACTICE it & TEST your smoke alarms! Learn more: https://t.co/j6y34JaA5b. pic.twitter.com/sRV28DGQA2
— American Red Cross of Utah (@RedCrossUtah) April 8, 2021
Resources include a template for an escape plan that you customize for your own home and reminders to not just change the batteries, but test the smoke detectors in your home once a month.
Utah just practiced earthquake drills, but house fire drills are perhaps even more critical.
Since last year, nearly a dozen people have died in house fires in the state — the most recent being an 11-year-old girl in East Carbon in March.
Over a recent 10-year stretch, an average of more than 3,000 people died annually across the country in house fires.
House fires also cause $14 billion in annual property damage and injure over 16,000 people each year. Cooking accidents account for the cause of more than half of the house fires.
In the past week, we responded to 3 home fires and provided comfort and care to 30 people in Midvale, Monroe and Sandy. Learn how to keep your family safe during a home fire by talking with a Red Cross volunteer. Visit https://t.co/ssAokK1zOF to make an appointment. #endhomefires pic.twitter.com/kq9SqbEy00
— American Red Cross of Utah (@RedCrossUtah) April 20, 2021
You can sign up and sign the pledge to prepare your family and sound the alarm here.
These are good habits to have — we’ve talked a lot about emergency preparedness, and it doesn’t get more basic than being ready for a house fire.
