In December, January, and February, there’s an annual spike in home fires.
That’s why it’s important to check and maintain your smoke detectors, especially during the winter months.
Home fires are devastating, and not uncommon.
In November, there were 57 fires in Wisconsin and in 2023, there were more than 700 fires throughout the state.
The Red Cross is one of the first organizations on the ground after these kinds of disasters.
Kathryn Halvorsen is the Executive Director of the North Central Wisconsin Red Cross chapter
“To help you keep your family safe, test your smoke alarms monthly. It's important to practice that home fire escape plan,” she recommends.
Throughout the year, the Red Cross works to decrease home fires through a free program called “Sound the Alarm”.
They install free smoke detectors, help create escape plans, and share fire safety information.
In Wausau in October, coinciding with Fire Prevention Month, the Red Cross held a “Sound the Alarm” event and installed 97 smoke alarms on a single day.
“Sound the Alarm” is a year-round effort.
“People can sign up at any time and we work with our partners to install these free smoke alarms. So again, just super important because having those smoke alarms reduce home fire deaths in half,” explained Halvorsen.
The initiative started back in 2014 and since then, the Red Cross has installed over 2.6 million smoke alarms.
The Red Cross estimates they’ve saved at least 1,928 people nationally, including 5 in Wisconsin.
