18-04-2025
Red Cross giving away free smoke alarm installations in New Rochelle. What to know
The American Red Cross wants to make sure you're prepared for a fire emergency. The Metro New York North chapter is holding a smoke detector installation giveaway in New Rochelle as a part of its 'Sound the Alarm' event on Saturday, May 3.
The local Red Cross chapter, which serves Westchester and Rockland counties, Greenwich, CT, and the US Military Academy at West Point, will install smoke alarms for free for residents who don't have working ones. All folks have to do is sign up ahead of the event date.
'We encourage everyone who doesn't have a working smoke alarm in their home to reach out and sign up for an appointment,' Stephanie Dunn Ashley, Chapter CEO of the American Red Cross, Metro NY North, said in an announcement for the event — 'Do it now, before you need it.'
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According to Dunn Ashley, home fires are this country's most frequent disaster. On average, seven people die every day from a home fire.
"Every second counts during a home fire," Dunn Ashley said. "Most people don't realize that we have just two minutes to escape."
That's why the American Red Cross started a national campaign called the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign. Sound the Alarm events are a part of the campaign, focused on bolstering home fire safety in the lower Hudson Valley.
"We do this work throughout the country and in every community," Dunn Ashley added. "But our Sound the Alarm home fire safety and smoke alarm installation events are typically held in communities where we see a higher-than-average rate of home fires, and where the people impacted may have additional obstacles to their recovery from a fire."
The Home Fire Campaign has helped save at least 2,284 lives since its launch in October 2014, according to the Red Cross. The Metro NY North chapter alone has installed over 11,000 free smoke alarms through its Sound the Alarm events in the area.
Volunteers and community partners work together with the Red Cross's Metro NY North chapter to plan a suitable time and date with those who sign up to install as many smoke alarms as a home may need for free to ensure a family's safety.
The upcoming May 3 Sound the Alarm event is for New Rochelle residents. But the Metro NY North chapter encourages all residents of the Lower Hudson Valley without working smoke alarms to request one.
Those in need of a smoke alarm and installation can request one by visiting or by calling 1-877-RED-CROSS (877-733-2767) and selecting Option 5.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Need a smoke alarm in New Rochelle? Get a free installation May 3
