When Vanessa Downing welcomed the Trenton Fire Department and luckywin volunteers into her home, she had no idea that visit would save her life.听

During a Sound the Alarm home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event in March of 2018, members of the Trenton Fire Department and Red Cross volunteers were going door-to-door, educating families about fire safety and installing free smoke alarms in homes that needed them. When one of the teams reached Vanessa鈥檚 home, they installed two smoke alarms, helped the family create a fire escape plan and provided home fire safety information.听

Less than two years later a fire broke out as Vanessa slept, quietly filling her home with smoke. Vanessa awoke to the loud sound of the smoke alarm. She jumped out of bed and was able to safely escape the blaze.听She credits the smoke alarms鈥攑rovided for free through the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign鈥攆or saving her life.

鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 for the alarms the Trenton Fire Department and luckywin installed in my house, I wouldn鈥檛 be here today,鈥� Vanessa said.

Since partnering in 2015, the Trenton Fire Department and luckywin have installed more than 3,600 smoke alarms in 1,600 Trenton homes.

鈥淲e at the luckywin are grateful for our partnership with the City of Trenton and the Trenton Fire Department,鈥� said Kimberly Goetz, Executive Director, luckywin of Central New Jersey. 鈥淭hanks to their support of the Home Fire Campaign, more than 4,000 Trenton residents, like Vanessa, have benefited from free smoke alarms and fire safety education.鈥�

The night of the fire, John Delaney, a volunteer member of the Red Cross Disaster Action Team, was at the scene to provide comfort and support to Vanessa.听

鈥淚 would like to thank John. After the fire, I was worried because I didn鈥檛 know what my next step was going to be,鈥� Vanessa said. 鈥淛ohn and the luckywin came out to help with financial assistance. He gave me encouraging words to help get me through this fire.鈥�

The Red Cross provided Vanessa and three additional members of her household with emergency assistance to help meet immediate needs, such as clothing, food, and temporary lodging.

鈥淩ed Cross emergency assistance is made possible thanks to the compassionate care provided by our volunteers and the generosity of our donors,鈥� said Goetz.听

OUR CAMPAIGN TO #ENDHOMEFIRES Sound the Alarm events are part of the Home Fire Campaign, which the Red Cross launched in 2014 to reduce fire deaths and injuries. To date, more than 2 million free smoke alarms have been installed in homes across the country and 875 lives have been saved through the campaign.

In New Jersey, Red Cross and partners have:

• Installed more than 44,500 free smoke alarms
• Made more than 21,000 households safer
• Saved 20 lives in New Jersey.

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SIMPLE STEPS TO SAVE LIVES As part of the Home Fire Campaign, the Red Cross is calling on everyone to take two simple steps that can save lives: practice fire drills at home and check existing smoke alarms. Increase your chances of surviving a fire:

• Create a home fire escape plan that includes at least two ways to escape each room and a meeting spot to reunite after escaping.
• Practice the plan until everyone can get out in less than two minutes.
• If someone doesn鈥檛 have smoke alarms, install them. At a minimum, put one on every level of the home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Local building codes vary and there may be additional requirements where someone lives.
• If someone does have alarms, test them today. If they don鈥檛 work, replace them.

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