American Red Cross offering free smoke alarms
Volunteers from the American Red Cross in Butler County will return to the city’s west end this weekend, as part of the organization’s annual push for fire safety.
The volunteers will go door-to-door offering to install free smoke alarms to those without a working alarm, and providing education on the importance of home fire escape plans starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, the Red Cross said in a news release.
The event is focused on an area of the city that was heavily damaged earlier this year by floodwaters.
“So many area homes were damaged following the floods this past summer,” said Mary Rogers, the Red Cross’ executive director for West Central Pennsylvania. “Now, as we enter into what is traditionally known as fire season, we want to make sure people have the tools and resources they need to safely escape a home fire if needed.”
In July the city’s west end was hit with flash floods that inundated dozens of homes with water and mud from Sullivan Run. The Red Cross distributed more than 200 cleanup kits, more than 80 box fans, as well as meals and bottles of water.
Councilman Mike Walter said in September that the city spent nearly $40,000 on emergency relief and disaster cleanup efforts following the flooding.
