Tulsa First Responders, Volunteers Install Free Smoke Alarms

Hundreds of people in Tulsa are safer in their homes with brand new smoke alarms.

Volunteers and first responders spent the day installing free smoke detectors in local neighborhoods.

"Saving lives is the most important thing and meeting new people. It just brightens my day,” said volunteer Chuck O’Brien.

Sound the Alarm is a year-round American Red Cross campaign, but this weekend’s event is a call to action.

The Red Cross teamed up with the Tulsa Fire Department and the Tulsa Dream Center to help.

The campaign is made possible by volunteers giving their own time to help install alarms in the community."

O’Brien’s group installed 11 smoke alarms Friday and many people didn’t even know there’s weren’t working.

"The fire department works their tails off, and we just don't want to see anymore fatalities. And this gets people out,” O’Brien said.

Dozens of volunteers knocked on doors in Tulsa neighborhoods asking people if their smoke alarms were working and if they weren't, new ones were installed for free.

Regional CEO Alice Townsend said the Red Cross responded to 135 home fires in Tulsa just last month.

"A family is impacted by a home fire in the U.S. about every seven minutes. And so, with the Red Cross, our goal is to provide free smoke alarms and education to prevent that when we can,” Townsend said.

Joe Reyes is a volunteer and on the board of Directors for the American Red Cross and said many homes don’t have smoke alarms and if they do, they’re outdated.

"We save lives, and that's what we're ultimately trying to do is save lives,” Reyes said.

For more information about the American Red Cross of Oklahoma, click here.