Local Red Cross, Pasadena Fire Dept. Work to Save Lives in Northwest Pasadena

More than 100 American Red Cross volunteers gathered at Jackie Robinson Park of Northwest Pasadena to work with local firefighters and community leaders to install smoke detectors and provide home fire safety information to local community.

Only five percent of all Los Angeles County homes are without smoke detectors, but 50 percent of all fire fatalties occur in those homes

In the past five years, Pasadena has counted 7 home fire fatalities, 18 home fire injuries and 487 home fires. The Red Cross has provided support to over 50 families affected by home fires.

“Seven people die per day in a home fire in the United States and the rate is increasing. We are working with local fire departments to help reduce home fires and save lives,” said Jarrett Barrios, CEO for the American Red Cross Los Angeles Region, in opening remarks to the event.

American Red Cross volunteers and firefighters canvassed Pasadena neighborhoods with the 91103 zip code during the first 3 weeks of January, building relationships with the local community and making appointments for January 31st installation day”.

During canvassing efforts, local community leaders such as Carmen Cortez, a Neighborhood Watch member, joined the effort. “I supported the home fire campaign as soon as I learned how it could make our neighborhood a safer place,” Carmen said.

In response to the alarming number of home fires in the United States, the American Red Cross has launched the nationwide Home Fire Preparedness Campaign, which aims to reduce the number of fire related injuries and deaths by 25 percent in the next

Lisa Derderian, Public Information Office for the Pasadena Fire Department said, “Smoke detectors are not a luxury, but a vital necessity.”

During the Pasadena campaign, volunteers went door to door to install a total of 225 new smoke detectors in more than 90 homes and provided residents with critical home fire education. “We recommended two easy steps to increase the chance of surviving a home fire: having a working smoke detector and creating a home fire escape plan,” explained Jarrett Barrios.

At the end of Saturday’s event, Pasadena Home Fire Prevention partners, supporters and neighborhood residents joined together in Jackie Robinson Park for a funcommunity picnic, where firefighters grilled hot dogs donated by the Pasadena Fire Union.

The Pasadena Home Fire Campaign was a collaboration supported by the Firefighters First Credit Union and Pasadena After Hours Rotary, as well as the efforts and generous time of firefighters and cadets from the Pasadena Fire Department, volunteers from Gabrielino and Los Alamitos H.S. Red Cross Clubs, and supporters such as the Pasadena Recreation and Parks Foundation, Pasadena Disaster Advisory Council, Pasadena Firefighters Local 809, Pasadena Fire Department CERT, Pasadena Fire Dept. Explorers, Tzu Chi Foundation and Woodbury University.

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission.

For more information, please visit redcrossla.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCrossLA or @CruzRojaLA.