On Saturday, dozens of Red Cross volunteers and community partners came together in the City of Poughkeepsie for a special city-wide event. The goal: to provide fire safety education and install free smoke alarms for as many local families as possible. The event was part of the nationwide Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, which aims to reduce deaths and injuries caused by home fires by 25% over a five year period.

With the support of many partner organizations, including the Poughkeepsie Fire Department, Habitat for Humanity, Dutchess County Community College, the SUNY New Paltz Red Cross Club, and Ulster Savings Bank, the Red Cross installed nearly 250 new smoke alarms in the course of one day. It was the largest such effort in the Eastern New York Region to date.

Check out our Mid-Hudson Valley Chapter Facebook page for photos and more from a great community event:

Since the Home Fire Campaign kicked off across the country in 2014, the Red Cross has installed 499,803 smoke detectors in the U.S. and made 215,183 homes safer with fire safety plans. To date, 111 lives have been saved as a result of the campaign, including two in the Eastern New York Region. To learn more and get involved, visit redcross.org/eny/homefires.