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Red Cross to install 1,000 smoke alarms in two BR neighborhoods

5 years 10 months 3 weeks ago Thursday, April 26 2018 Apr 26, 2018 April 26, 2018 5:51 PM April 26, 2018 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - A life-saving effort will begin this weekend.

The American Red Cross is installing hundreds of smoke alarms in people's homes, starting with the 70805 zip code. American Red Cross says those homes in north Baton Rouge are at high risk for fires. It’s part of a nation-wide campaign, Sound the Alarm, Save a Life.

“We have had a lot of requests there,” said Stephanie Wagner, with the American Red Cross. “There’s a lot of elderly folks who live in these areas. It’s no questions asked. Where [smoke alarms] are needed, we're going to put them in.”

According to the Baton Rouge Fire Department, there have been 23 fires this year in the 70805 zip code. One of those fires killed 4 people.

“It’s truly devastating. It’s not only devastating for those directly impacted in the fire, but also their friends, family and neighbors,” Wagner said.

The organization says a smoke detector can cut the risk of injury in half. That's why more than 100 volunteers will be going door-to-door asking residents if they have one installed.

In Baton Rouge, 1,000 smoke alarms are available. They will be divided into two neighborhoods. The first 500 will go to 70805 on Saturday.

The remaining will go to the Gardere neighborhood on May 5. One hundred volunteers are still needed for the second phase of the initiative.

If you’d like to volunteer for the event or find out more information, visit SoundTheAlarm.org/Louisiana.

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