The American Red Cross recently made a few house calls in Yankton. As part of the Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, volunteers were checking smoke alarms and other safety measures in 280 homes in the community. Through the effort, 63 new smoke alarms were installed, and well more than half the homes were found lacking a disaster escape plan or disaster preparedness kit.
Executive Director of the Red Cross in Eastern South Dakota, Tony Burke, says the campaign is designed to prevent deaths and injuries that occur in home fires…
He says this community sweep is just one of many that will be occurring throughout the region…
Burke says the nationwide campaign was introduced last year with the goal of reducing the deaths and injuries due to home fires by 25 percent over the next five years.
