BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Volunteers with the American Red Cross and local organizations in Bismarck and Mandan have installed free smoke alarms at nearly 200 homes.
The initiative is part of a two-week national effort to install 100,000 smoke alarms in 100 cities. KXMB-TV reports that volunteers installed 187 smoke alarms in Bismarck and Mandan on Saturday.
The television station reports that deaths in home fires often occur in houses without working smoke alarms. The American Red Cross’ “Sound the Alarm, Save a Life” initiative has been in place since 2014.
“The American Red Cross responds to 73,000 single-family fires nationwide every year. So, we are trying to prevent some of the deaths that occur. With this program since 2014, we have had 582 documented saved lives,” said Rob Stotz, executive director of the American Red Cross Dakotas Region.
Veronica Zwicke, a Bismarck resident, already had one smoke alarm hard-wired in her apartment but volunteers still installed a second one for free.
“They are battery operated and the battery lasts for 10 years,” she said. “They put it right by our kitchen, which is awesome.”
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Information from: KXMB-TV, http://https://www.kxnet.com/
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