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Volunteers install free smoke alarms in Gregory homes

Posted at 10:53 AM, Jan 19, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-19 11:56:14-05

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Yesterday afternoon, over a dozen volunteers sought out residents in Gregory, TX that had old smoke alarms or did not have any at all.

"If we had to get a percentage wise, probably about 80% of the time they do not have them in their home," Alex Garcia, Executive Director of the Coastal Bend chapter of the American Red Cross, said.

Garcia says it's an educational campaign that the American Red Cross tries to do regularly. One volunteer said they have not been out to Gregory in over a year.

Street by street, volunteers knocked on doors to see who had old smoke alarms and who needed one in general. Garcia says you'd be surprised at how many residents don't check their smoke alarms.

"Do you have them, number one, have you check them if you do have them and number two, if you don't then would you allow us to come into your home to install smoke alarms to save a life?"

Some residents were more than eager to get an alarm that was not present in their home. Diana Valencia says, "we don't get many opportunities in having things done to houses around here."

She had lived in Gregory for over 20 years and has not had an alarm for quite some time.

"It means a lot to me, our safety, our lives, and I also have a small Yorkie so having him go crazy and things like that. It's, oh my God, it's nice to have people like them come around and ask us."

The goal was to get 1000 smoke alarm installations. The American Red Cross will be in the Corpus Christi area on April 25th and says to contact them if someone is in need of a smoke alarm.

You can find more information at redcross.org/homefiresor contact Annette Gomez at 361-277-1740