TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Did you know, according to the American Red Cross, you may only have two minutes to escape a home fire?
The Southern Arizona Chapter of the American Red Cross, in partnership with students from the University of Arizona College of Nursing Master's Program and the Northern Arizona University College of Nursing Bachelors Program, installed free smoke alarms Thursday on the Southside.
"Our goal is to make sure that every person has a working smoke alarm so that they have that early warning and that early alert in case they do experience a home fire so that they can get out safely," said Courtney Slanaker, executive director for the American Red Cross of Southern Arizona.
Every day there are at least seven lives lost due to home fires across the United States according to the Red Cross, but having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death by half.
With cooler temperatures and the holidays approaching, Slanaker emphasizes that home fires happen more often during winter. This is due to things like overloading circuits from Christmas lights to improper use of space heaters.
Slanaker tells me the Southside area off Drexel and Palo Verde was selected for the new smoke alarms because of previous canvassing that showed there were people in need of them.
Kevin Roschlau, who had two new smoke alarms installed, tells me he now has a peace of mind heading into the winter months.
"I've been wanting to get one in here for a while because, you know, it's a trailer house, it's a death trap. I feel much safer having a smoke alarm in the house," Roschlau said.
The Red Cross, nursing students and volunteers planned to visit around 100 homes to install between one to three new smoke alarms for families.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
