The American Red Cross is best known for saving lives by replenishing the region’s blood supply, but Saturday it demonstrated its life-saving prowess in a different way—by installing smoke detectors in the homes of DeSoto County residents.
In a Saturday morning “Sound the Alarm” event coordinated by the Red Cross and Hope DeSoto with cooperation from the DeSoto Fire Department, volunteers installed more than 56 smoke detectors in 17 homes all over DeSoto County.
DeSoto County resident and American Red Cross Disaster Response Coordinator, Samantha Samples, was thrilled to participate and help our neighbors. “A lot of alarms were outdated or disconnected. We need to stress if they are older than 10 years, they are not reliable,” Samples said. “I don’t think a lot of people think about that or the fact that you only have 90 seconds to get out of a burning home. Having a plan makes all the difference.”
“This was our first-ever Sound the Alarm event, and I didn’t know what to expect,” said Amanda Reuter, Hope DeSoto Executive Director. “The event was a success, and we will plan to have another event in the near future. We all met some new friends, enjoyed the rural scenery, and most importantly, we made 17 DeSoto County families much safer.”
Thanks to the American Red Cross for their smoke detector donations, volunteers, and training! Thank you to the DeSoto Fire Department for showing support and keeping families safe by installing smoke detectors.
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