Volunteers canvass neighborhoods, get trained in Western CO

Nearly 30 Red Cross volunteers and employees from 8 counties spent the weekend of May 15-17 training, practicing and reaching out to save lives in and around the Steamboat Springs area.

Volunteers explain the importance of having an evacuation plan.

The Red Cross Northwest Colorado Disaster Academy drew 27 Red Cross staff and trained them to prepare Colorado & Wyoming residents for emergencies, respond during disasters, and help their communities recover after disasters.

In addition to training, 18 volunteers went out into the Steamboat Springs community to deliver disaster preparedness and lifesaving resources door-to-door to local residents. The volunteers visited 25 homes in two trailer parks, where they spoke with more than 100 residents, helped make 25 emergency evacuation plans, installed 38 smoke alarms and changed batteries on another 9 smoke alarms.

A Red Cross volunteer installs one of 38 smoke alarms.

The outreach activity was a hands-on training in emergency preparedness and is part of a five-year campaign by the Red Cross aimed at reducing deaths and injuries caused by home fires by 25 percent.

Although the outreach day had been planned for some time, it came a a time when the community was shaken by a recent home fire and residents were thinking about fire safety.

The next Red Cross volunteer Disaster Training Academy will be June 6-7. For more information, visit: http://www.redcross.org/news/article/Red-Cross-Hosts-Disaster-Training-Academy-in-Pueblo.