The American Red Cross is saving lives through the installation of free smoke alarms in local communities. Their impact became starkly clear after a recent fire in Ford, Washington, which displaced a family and resulted in a casualty. Red Cross volunteers immediately responded to provide emergency assistance.
American Red Cross Volunteers Turn a Simple Installation Into a Lifesaving Intervention
For resident Kristin Myers, these alarms made the difference between life and death, a post shared by American Red Cross on X reveals.
“If I didn’t have those smoke alarms to get me up, I would have slept through it, and I wouldn’t be here today,” she said.
Red Cross volunteers had installed the alarms in her home a year earlier. Kristin had fallen asleep watching TV when her dog, Shasta, began pawing at her head. She then heard the blaring alarms and smelled smoke.
“I have never been more afraid in my life,” Kristin recalled. “It was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever gone through.”
“If I didn’t have those smoke alarms to get me up, I would have slept through it, and I wouldn’t be here today.”
Kristin Myers credits the smoke alarms that were installed by @RedCrossNW volunteers a year earlier with saving her life.
She had fallen asleep watching TV when her… pic.twitter.com/H83TuVTCNx
— American Red Cross (@RedCross) January 14, 2026
As smoke filled the air, Kristin acted quickly. She grabbed her phone, called 911, and escaped with Shasta. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, saving much of her home.
Kristin now plans to pay it forward by volunteering to install alarms in other homes. Meanwhile, the ICRC is making inroads in Afghanistan with the distribution of silos and crucial life-saving supplies in the Middle East.
The Ripple Effect of a Simple Safety Installation
The American Red Cross program also inspires new volunteers in America. Robert James, a youth volunteer in Los Angeles, said his first Red Cross experience was a “Sound the Alarm” event.
“It was incredible! In just one afternoon, we made a real difference by making people’s homes and families safer. It made me realize that helping others is important,” James said.
In another case, Red Cross volunteers directly saved a 72-year-old man named Jerry.
Jon McCollum, a Community Disaster Program Specialist in North Carolina, explained that Jerry had requested a single smoke alarm online. A week later, volunteers installed four new alarms in his home.
Weeks later, on January 15, a fire sparked by a backyard burn barrel spread to Jerry’s house. The newly installed smoke alarms alerted him, and he escaped safely with his dogs.