Did you know that 2,500 people die in house fires each year? One South Florida charity is working to drastically reduce that number.
Data shows that four percent of homes in the U.S. do not have a working smoke alarm, which accounts for almost 40 percent of the deaths in home fires across the country.
The American Red Cross responds to a house fire every 20 hours, on average, in South Florida. They say these numbers can drop by installing smoke alarms, checking existing alarms to make sure they work and develop a simple fire escape plan.
The American Red Cross and United Way have teamed up and developed the 25! Alive Home Fire Campaign. On Thursday, both organizations, hundreds of volunteers and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue visited homes in Sweetwater and surrounding areas, that were in need of smoke alarms. They will be installing 2,000, 10-year battery smoke alarms, test and replace batteries of existing alarms, and develop a fire escape plan. All of this will be provided to those residents at no cost.
The event began at 8 a.m. at FIU's Main Campus, at the football stadium and runs through 2:30 p.m.
NBC 6 is a proud sponsor of this event. For more information on how you can get involved, click here.
