“This
is a great program. I can’t believe your phone isn’t ringing off the hook!”
Monroe
Grassi of Canastota, NY was thrilled to learn that the American Red Cross could
install free smoke alarms in his home. As soon as he and his wife Patricia
learned about the
Home Fire Campaign from the Madison County Office for the Aging, they began
to spread the word.
“No
charge, that’s a real plus when you’re on a fixed income,” Grassi said.
 |
| CNY Board Member Rob Just installs a smoke alarm in Frank Stech's Cazenovia, NY Home |
Three
of the volunteers who visited the Grassis and two other Madison County families
on Friday, July 31 to install smoke alarms and provide fire safety information
normally support the Red Cross in another way. Joanna Ferguson, Rob Just and
Renae Rokicki are members of Central New York Chapter’s Board of Directors.
“The
Campaign was presented to us at a Board meeting, and it sounded neat,” said
Just. “This is a great service for homeowners. I took the day off to do this!”
“As
Board members, we don’t always have the opportunity to provide service at
ground level,” added Rokicki. On Friday, she and Ferguson helped families put
together an escape plan, while Just and AmeriCorps member Casey Pfeiffer
installed the smoke alarms.
 |
| CNY Board members Renae Rokicki (l) and Joanna Ferguson put on Red Cross vests and helped Monroe and Patricia Grassi of Canastota, NY put together an escape plan |
“This
is a good way for people in the community to give back,” said Ferguson. “As
Board members, we wanted to educate ourselves, be able to understand the impact
the Red Cross has in the community.”
Frank
Stech had first-hand experience with how important the work of our volunteers
can be. While Just and Pfeiffer were installing new smoke alarms in his
Cazenovia home, Stech remembered when his neighbors lost their home to a fire
when he was growing up in the ‘60s.
“The
Red Cross was there, first on the scene to help those nine kids and their
mother,” he said. “I know the importance of this. I wasn’t as interested in the
free alarms as I was in learning where we should put them.”
Through
education and ensuring homes have working smoke alarms, the Home Fire Campaign
aims to reduce fire related deaths and injuries across the country by 25% over
the next five years. Contact
your local Chapter for more information or to schedule an appointment (in
Central New York, email smokealarms.cny@redcross.org
or call 315-234-2299). The volunteers that come to your door just may be Red Cross
Board members, like Rob Just.
“This
has been a lot of fun. I definitely want to do it again!”
