One of the teams of a Red Cross youth group distribute fire safety informatio in a Van Nuys neighborhood on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
More than 150 Red Cross L.A. Region youth volunteers celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day by distributing fire prevention and safety information to nine communities across the Southland.
In partnership with HOPE Worldwide, Red Cross youth volunteers canvassed door-to-door from Hawthorne to Van Nuys encouraging community residents to familiarize themselves with fire prevention information, including tips on the benefits of smoke alarms, creating and practicing fire escape plans, and safe in-home cooking and heating procedures. Volunteers also distributed door hangars with fire safety tips and information. For those who were not at home, the door hangars were hung on their doors so residents would have the information when they returned.
Sandee Grossman, a Van Nuys resident who talked with one of the Red Cross youth said, “You never think it’s going be you. I came home one night to find the fire department in front of our house because, when my son was younger, one of our babysitters decided to build a large fire in the fireplace! Fortunately, no-one was hurt.”
Fire is the biggest disaster threat to American families – not floods, hurricanes or tornadoes. And most fires are preventable. Still, over 90 percent of all disasters the Red Cross responds to each year are related to fire. On average, the American Red Cross provides food, shelter, comfort and hope to people affected by approximately 63,000 fires every year, or about one fire every eight minutes. Click here for fire safety tips.
Story by Priyanka Banerjee, Communications Volunteer
Video by Bob Carey and Deanna Morgan, Communications Volunteers
Tags: American Red Cross, disaster preparedness, home fires, Red Cross Youth Volunteers
