ARKANSAS & OKLAHOMA (KFSM) - More than 60 percent of households in Arkansas and Oklahoma don't have a working smoke alarm. However, volunteers with the American Red Cross are hoping to change that.
The American Red Cross is going around and traveling through the entire area to make sure families stay safe if something were to happen such as a house fire.
They have a regional goal to install more than 6,000 alarms across the area.
Workers with the organization are working to decrease the number of deaths and injuries that comes with a home catching fire. Arkansas and Oklahoma are ranked in the top five related house fire injuries and fatalities, according to Travis Cooper with the American Red Cross. They would like to decrease the number 25 percent nationwide.
By doing this, first comes installing the device that could save your life. Volunteers with the organization load up a truck to be delivered to different cities quite often and even install the device for you in your home. They do this because they see such a need across our area.
The smoke alarm will last them ten years and also require no battery to be changed every year.
The American Red Cross does urge families to check your smoke alarm once a month and also have a fire escape plan within your home.