Volunteers with the American Red Cross armed hundreds of Bronx residents with the tools they need to practice fire safety as part of the organization’s National Home Fire Safety Campaign.
While planning to hit every borough over the next few years, the Red Cross says it kicked off its New York City effort in the Bronx because it has a high number of fire incidents, especially in Williamsbridge.
Hoping to reduce the number of fire-related fatalities and injuries, volunteers went door to door installing more than 300 smoke alarms.
"This effort is really important to us to help make a real impact on the prevention side. We're so connected to people after fires, we want to make more of an impact and help people prevent these home fires that have been happening so often," said Michael Vulpillieres of the American Red Cross.
"This is what we want because if someone, at least if one person, can alert the building that we have a fire then maybe we can save a lot of lives," said Bronxite Kathleen Jolliffe.
The Red Cross says every household should have a fire escape plan and residents should practice it at least twice a year.