Join the Home Fire Campaign

Written by: Dongjun (Rick) Yoo, volunteer

Your help is needed to reduce death and injury from home fires by 25% by 2020.

Launched in 2014, the Home Fire Campaign organizes volunteers to canvas high-risk neighborhoods and install free smoke alarms. Volunteers and community partners travel from house to house and ask if the residents have properly working smoke alarms. The residents are then given the choice to have the volunteers immediately install new smoke alarms or ask for a future appointment. Volunteers then record the homes and areas they have canvassed, then report back to team leaders. Since its inception, the national Home Fire Campaign has saved 235 lives and installed 791,627 smoke alarms.

As a Red Cross Volunteer, I joined the Home Fire Campaign to fulfill my student community service requirement. My first shift was not easy, but with teamwork it felt good. All volunteers were trained to speak with residents, educate them on the importance of smoke alarms and about the House Fire Campaign in general. It was important to be on time, which was at 8 AM in the morning! At 9 AM, we headed out to our assigned neighborhoods to start checking smoke alarms. Working in teams of 2-3 volunteers, we used basic tools and quickly installed the alarms. A team leader supervised volunteers, showed us how to work efficiently with fellow peers and helped to record our progress.

The Home Fire Campaign is a valuable experience to both residents and volunteers. No experience is necessary, so almost anyone can get involved to help yourself and your community. For more information and for upcoming installation events visit our local website.