The American Red Cross is aiming to install about 300 smoke detectors in an Arroyo Grande mobile home park.
According to the Red Cross, typically when a home fire sparks, people only have about two minutes to escape, which is when having functioning smoke detectors in your home can be life-saving.
Stacy Hawthorn lost her home at the Mesa Dunes Mobile Estates in Arroyo Grande two years ago after an electrical malfunction led to a fire in her home.
"Even though it was an electrical fire, when the smoke started to come out of the receptacle, I was not aware of it and it alerted me to it and my home burned down within... it must have been three minutes," Hawthorn said.
The American Red Cross will be at the mobile home park on November 16 in an effort to help make homes safer by installing 300 smoke detectors.
"Unfortunately, the number one disaster we respond to as the Red Cross is home fires, so we know that when we can make sure all homes have working smoke alarms, we can actually save lives," said Nicole Maul, American Red Cross spokesperson.
According to the Red Cross, back in 2017 more than 300 lives were saved through their Home Fire Campaign, thanks in part to the efforts of Red Cross volunteers installing smoke detectors.
The devices start around $20 and increase in price from there, but the Red Cross is doing what it can to make smoke detectors accessible to everyone by installing them for free.
"So if this is a way we can keep our community safer just with a smoke alarm, then that is what we want to do," said Maul.
The Red Cross will also be helping people create an escape plan for their home specifically as part of this initiative.
The American Red Cross currently has ten volunteers that will be out at the park on November 16 but are looking for more volunteers to help out.
If you are interested in volunteering, click here.
The American Red Cross recommends people check their smoke detectors monthly and practice an escape plan in case of an emergency.
