CLENDENIN, W.Va. — The American Red Cross celebrated West Virginia Day on Tuesday like they do many other days of the year, helping people who need it.
Red Cross workers from the West Virginia area met in three separate counties to install free smoke detectors to anyone who wanted one in communities affected by last year’s devastating floods.
Erica Mani, CEO of the West Virginia region of the Red Cross, said it was a great way to celebrate West Virginia Day.
“We want to do something good for the people of West Virginia who have endured so much,” Mani said. “The most common disaster we respond to in West Virginia and across the country is the all too common home fire.”
According to the National Fire Protection Agency, 2015 saw 365,500 fires across the United States, which were responsible for 2,650 deaths and seven billion dollars in damage.
Mani said that a house fire is not what many would consider a disaster, but the results are the same
“You lose everything in so many instances, and way too often people lose their lives,” Mani said. “It affects one family at a time, but so many over the course of a month or a year.”
The Red Cross started their Home Fire Campaign in 2014. In the five years since, the number of fire related deaths and injuries was reduced by 25 percent.
Over 13,000 smoke alarms have been installed in West Virginia since the start of the program, and the lives of 12 West Virginians have been saved by the free installation.
“Today we have 10 to 15 people on the ground in Clendenin installing alarms,” Mani said. “We have appointments where people expect us, but we will also be knocking on doors hoping to meet people who need these alarms, or at least give them some fire safety education.”
Red cross volunteers will be focusing on towns like Elkview, Rainelle, Clendenin and White Sulfur Springs.
“We wanted to make sure that we were focusing in on those flood affected areas,” Mani said. “In addition to that long term recovery work, we wanted to put a spotlight on the work still being done and the resiliency across all kinds of disasters.”
One of the Clendenin residents that benefited from this event was Eleanor Bird.
Bird, who takes care of her husband with Parkinson’s Disease and lives with her sister, said if it wasn’t for the help of community members and volunteers, they would be in big trouble.
“We lost 97 percent of our clothes in the flood,” Bird said. “The ones I am wearing right now were given to me.”
Bird said she is thankful for the help of strangers and friends alike.
“When God blesses you, he blesses you big,” Bird said.
Free installation request can be made at redcross.org, volunteers to help install smoke alarms can also register at the site.