By Bill Fortune
Going door-to-door on a warm Friday afternoon to install smoke alarms is probably not what most people think about at the end of their work week. For the Red Cross and local Fire Departments that activity is right in line with their mission and their hearts.
The Red Cross of Southeastern Colorado and the Fountain Fire Department joined forces on September 16 to try and make families in Fountain just a little bit safer. Laura Kozuszek, American
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| Fire Inspector Mark Stanwood (l) watches as Laura Kozuszek gets a big hug from Anthem McConnel. Photo by Beverly Santarelli/American Red Cross |
Red Cross Program Development Specialist/AmeriCorps VISTA coordinated the event along with the Fountain Fire Department. “This was my first attempt to organize a Home Fire Campaign event,” Kozuszek said at the end of the event. “I wasn’t sure how it would work out but I am so excited about the cooperation I had with the City of Fountain and the Fire Department and our great volunteers.”
Teams knocked on every door they could find in the targeted area and at the end of the day they had installed 25 smoke alarms in 19 homes. They also spoke with families about home fire safety and winter safety.
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| A Fountain resident watches as Red Cross volunteers install a new smoke alarm. Photo by Ray Granado/American Red Cross |
At the end of the day the volunteers were tired but happy about what they had accomplished. “This really made me feel like I was helping someone,” one volunteer said. “Some of the homes had smoke alarms that looked like they were 20 years old and some had none at all.” In each case the Red Cross and Fire Department tested existing smoke alarms and if they were found to be inoperative they were immediately replaced. “This is what we like to see,” said Fountain Fire Department Fire Inspector Mark Stanwood. “What we don’t want to see are people being killed or injured in a home fire because their alarm was faulty.”
The Red Cross will be out in full force on October 14 as they partner with the Air Force Academy cadets to install smoke alarms in El Paso and Teller Counties. If you are interested in receiving a smoke alarm through the Home Fire Campaign on October 14 please visit our website as www.redcross.org/coinstallday2016. More photos of the Fountain, Colorado Home Fire Campaign event are on our flickr page at Fountain Home Fire Campaign
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| Volunteers and Fire Fighters pose for photo before hitting the streets in Fountain for the Home Fire Campaign. Photo by Ray Granado/American Red Cross |