Mayor Palmieri Joins Red Cross to Sound the Alarm

Signature event to save lives from home fires planned for this month

UTICA, NY (April 9, 2018) - The American Red Cross Mohawk Valley Chapter is planning its largest local home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event ever this month as part of a nationwide campaign. From April 28 through May 13, the Red Cross will Sound the Alarm in more than 100 cities and towns nationwide to help save lives from home fires. Working with community partners across the country, the Red Cross plans to install 100,000 free smoke alarms during this period, adding to the more than 1.1 million alarms installed since the Home Fire Campaign was launched in 2014.

Locally, the Red Cross is joining forces with the City of Utica for a massive Sound the Alarm fire safety event on Saturday, April 28. 

“Red Cross volunteers respond to around 400 home fires every year in our 24-county Eastern New York region. In fact, home fires are the biggest disaster threat our community faces, killing seven people in the U.S. every day,” said Mallory Brown, executive director for the Mohawk Valley Red Cross. “We want to put an end to these tragedies, which is why we’ve joined forces with Mayor Palmieri and the City of Utica to Sound the Alarm in our community on April 28.”

Mayor Palmieri stated, “The American Red Cross is a great partner that does an outstanding job helping individuals in our community.  We are proud and supportive of their proactive initiative to install smoke alarms in homes throughout Utica as it will certainly enhance safety and quality of life for of our residents.”

“We need our community to come together for this event and help us make an enormous impact,” added Brown. “The Red Cross Home Fire Campaign is saving lives. In fact, two lives were saved right here in Utica by smoke alarms we installed in partnership with Utica Municipal Housing Authority. We hope you’ll join in our effort to Sound the Alarm and save lives by volunteering to install smoke alarms, donating or fundraising to support the cause, and helping to spread the word about fire safety.”

To learn more and get involved now, visit soundthealarm.org/eny. From this site, people can sign up to volunteer, start a Sound the Alarm fundraiser, make a financial donation, learn more about home fire safety, and request free smoke alarms from the Red Cross.

Local sponsors supporting the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign and the April 28 Sound the Alarm event in the City of Utica include CSEA, Dominion Energy, First Source Federal Credit Union, GPO Federal Credit Union, MVP Health Care, National Grid, NYCM Insurance, Spectrum, State Farm and Stewart’s Shops. To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, email derek.dobson@redcross.org or call (518) 694-5145.

Be a part of this important effort. Together, we can Sound the Alarm about fire safety and help save lives.

About the Home Fire Campaign:

The American Red Cross responds to nearly 64,000 disasters a year, the majority of which are home fires. Home fires are a significant threat to our communities, claiming seven lives every day across the United States. Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half; having an escape plan further improves the odds of survival. That’s why the Red Cross launched its Home Fire Campaign in 2014, aiming to end these tragedies and save lives.

The Home Fire Campaign is making a difference across the country. Since 2014, the Red Cross and our partners in more than 12,000 cities and towns have installed over 1.1 million free smoke alarms and made nearly 500,000 households safer. In Eastern New York, we have installed more than 10,000 smoke alarms and provided hundreds of families with free fire safety education. Already, at least 14 lives have been saved in our region thanks to this effort. To learn more, please visit soundthealarm.org/eny.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org.

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