MAYOR PALMIERI & AMERICAN RED CROSS ANNOUNCE LAUNCH OF HOME FIRE PREPAREDNESS CAMPAIGN IN UTICA

Partnership Will Help Reduce Fire Related Deaths & Injuries in Our Community

Mayor Robert Palmieri and the American Red Cross of the Mohawk Valley’s Executive Director Mallory Brown today announced an important partnership to enhance fire safety in the City of Utica.

Last October, the American Red Cross announced a new campaign to reduce deaths and injuries from home fires across the country by as much as 25 percent over the next five years. Since then, Red Cross workers and community partners have visited hundreds of homes across the Eastern New York Region to deliver critical fire safety information and install free smoke alarms for residents in need.

The Red Cross Home Fire Preparedness Campaign will officially launch in the City of Utica on April 15th. Red Cross staff will join forces with Mayor Palmieri on his weekly Quality of Life Sweep to deliver fire safety information and resources to residents, including free smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

With safety of Utica residents being the top priority, the Red Cross will be able to install detectors in any home regardless if they are owner or tenant occupied. In addition, the Red Cross has secured a shipment of 10 year sealed battery ionization sensor units which will have a longer term impact in our community.

Mayor Palmieri stated, “I thank Mallory and the entire Red Cross staff for their support and dedication in keeping the residents of Utica safe. This is a campaign the City of Utica is proud to be a part of and we appreciate all the Red Cross is doing for our community.”

Executive Director Mallory Brown stated, “This campaign is special to us at the Red Cross because we see people affected by home fires every day. We hope that by helping people prepare now with smoke alarms and escape plans, we might be able to prevent some of the most devastating losses fire can cause. We’re grateful to Mayor Palmieri and the City of Utica for partnering with us to accomplish this.”

Since the start of the campaign in October 2014, the Red Cross has visited more than 23,000 homes and installed nearly 40,000 smoke alarms nationwide. Seven lives have already been saved by smoke alarms installed through the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign.

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. For more information, please visit www.redcross.org.