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Date: 4/11/2023
SPRINGFIELD — In the wake of the fatal fire at 126 East St., the American Red Cross Massachusetts chapter is partnering with National Grid to rally volunteers to install smokes alarms in five cities across Massachusetts, including Springfield, as part of its Sound the Alarm campaign to install 50,000 free smoke alarms nationwide in May.
National Grid is Red Cross’s statewide sponsor. They have been a longtime partner with the Red Cross for home fire preparedness and donate money to the Red Cross every year to help make their Home Fire campaign program happen. Since 2014, Red Cross has installed thousands of free smoke alarms in Massachusetts through the Home Fire campaign program. Though they’re known for blood donation, CPR training, and work in national and international disasters, home fires represent most of the emergencies Red Cross respond to on a daily basis. In Massachusetts alone, the Red Cross responded to more than 700 home fires between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022.
Communications Manager Jeff Hall for Red Cross of Massachusetts said, “Homes fires are without a doubt the number one disaster in Massachusetts. There are multiple home fires per day. I was just down in New Bedford at a recovery center helping 30 plus people who were burned out of an apartment building.” He continued, “Two of the people in the building succumbed to their injuries from the fire and we saw that in Springfield as well.”
On April 30, the Springfield Fire Department responded to a residential fire which took place at 2:30 a.m. at 126 East St. that claimed the lives of two older adults and a dog. After fighting the fire at the two-story, single-family home for two hours before it was fully extinguished, fire officials reported that there were no working smoke alarms in the residence.
“Smoke alarms are the one piece of safety equipment you can have in your home that increase your odds of surviving a fire,” Hall said.
“Most fires are fully engulfed causing life-threatening damage in two minutes or less right now. It’s so important to get that notification from a smoke alarm and leave your home as soon as possible.”
He went on to say, “It’s really about educating the public about being safe in your home and what we can do to help people if they are not financially able to purchase smoke alarms. We want to relieve that burden for them.”
Smoke alarms should be on every level of the residence. For those with battery-powered smoke alarms, the Department of Fire Services recommends changing alkaline batteries twice a year when you change your clocks. They also recommend folks to check the manufacturing date printed on the back, because smoke alarms should be replaced after 10 years. When purchasing a smoke alarm choose photoelectric alarms that have a sealed, long-life battery and a hush feature. This reduces the chances that someone will disable the alarm. Lastly, test your alarms every month to be sure you and your family are protected.
The Springfield Sound the Alarm event will occur in Springfield on May 6, 150 Brookdale Dr. During the installations, volunteers will also share information on the causes of home fires, how to prevent them, what to do if a fire starts and how to create an escape plan. There is no cost for this service, but Red Cross asks that interested residents make an appointment in advance by calling 800-564-1234 or go to soundthealarm.org/MA. While the Sound the Alarm installation event is only one day in May for Springfield residents, residents can call 800-564-1234 to schedule an appointment outside of the Sound the Alarm event.