The American Red Cross is giving a gift that can save lives this holiday season - free smoke detectors. Â They'll even install them free of charge.
The Northern Nevada chapter of the Red Cross helps victims of house fires every three or four days.
"That means it is real, it does happen," said Jill Hemenway, Disaster Program Manager. Â "Especially now in Winter when we're talking about portable space heaters and people keeping their ovens open for heat."
Having working smoke alarms cuts the risk of death from these fires in half.
"If you have a smoke detector, you have a higher probability of having your life saved," Hemenway said.  "Especially if you're asleep or something like that."
That's why there's a nationwide initiative to get alarms in homes that don't have them. Â All it takes is a call to the local Red Cross Chapter.
"Call the hotline at 775-954-1185 and you'll get a call back within 48 hours," Hemenway said. Â "We ask you leave your name, your number, and address; we try to group people by where they live."
Trained volunteers will install new smoke alarms that will get you through the next decade.
"So if you aren't sure when the last time yours was put in our changed, we will come out and install for free," Hemenway said. Â "It's a great service we provide and we're happy to do it and have the volunteers that are helping us out."
They also have fire prevention, safety and evacuation tips for the whole family.
"We give out a little map; it's a whiteboard and you can draw your house and make two exits out of every room," Hemenway said. Â "You can also practice the routes; it's important to know where to go, especially if you have kids or people with disabilities in the home, how to get out, where the meeting points are. Â If there's are fire it's important to be out of the house in two minutes or less."
Free Smoke Detector Hotline: (775) 954-1185
