ROCKLAND, Maine — Plenty of Mainers living on the midcoast went to sleep Saturday night with a sense of comfort as they now had new smoke alarms installed in their homes for free.
Volunteers with the American Red Cross of Northern New England and the Camden, Rockport, and Rockland Fire Departments installed 168 free smoke alarms for families during the "Sound The Alarm" event.
Red Cross officials said you only have two minutes to escape a home fire and working smoke alarms can provide a crucial warning to save your life.
Volunteers and fire officials also spent time with residents to go over fire safety tips and how to come up with a fire escape plan.
According to a release from the Red Cross, the organization responded to 274 home fires in 2022, assisting 948 Mainers. So far in 2023, the Red Cross has provided critical support to 261 Mainers following 78 home fires and 28 of those fires were in central and midcoast Maine.
The Sound The Alarm campaign is a nationwide effort that began in 2014. Since then, "the Red Cross of Northern New England and local partners have installed more than 17,703 free smoke alarms and made more than 5,616 households safer across the state," according to the release.
You can learn more about other smoke alarm events and other resources from the Red Cross here.
