BANGOR, Maine — The American Red Cross is the sounding the alarm so Mainers don’t miss their smoke alarms.
The American Red Cross is hosting the Sound the Alarm event Saturday, April 30, and will be installing smoke alarms in Greater Bangor for free.
The campaign is being held nationwide, but residents of Bangor, Hampden, Glenburn, Hermon, Brewer, Veazie, and Orono are encouraged to sign up for the Saturday event online.
The American Red Cross has reported responding to more than 94 home fires in Maine since the start of 2022, assisting more than 380 people, as of April 25.
Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death in a house fire by half, as the alarms alert people that they need to get to safety, they said.
The Red Cross has installed more than 4,000 free smoke alarms in Maine since 2019. They are hoping to install 50,000 nationwide as part of the Sound the Alarm event.
“You just have to call us and sign up. We will come to your house, we will bring the ladder, bring the drill, we will put it up for you, make sure it works," Caroline King, executive director at the American Red Cross of Northern and Eastern Maine, said. "We are going to sit down with you and your family and help them make a fire escape plan, and it’s free. All you have to do is call and sign up.”
The Red Cross asks that anyone who wishes to sign up is encouraged to visit www.redcross.org/EndHomeFiresNNE or call 1-800-464-6692.