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Red Cross installing free smoke alarms following spike in house fires

The volunteers will be canvassing the Clarkston area where several recent apartment fires have occurred.
(Photo: DeKalb County Fire Rescue)

CLARKSTON, Ga. – We are barely two weeks into 2018 and already 335 metro Atlanta residents have been displaced from their homes because of a fire, according to the Atlanta Red Cross.

In honor of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, the Red Cross, along with firefighters will be going door-to-door testing and installing smoke alarms. They hope to also help families create a home fire escape plan.

The volunteers will be canvassing the Clarkston area where several recent apartment fires have occurred.

The American Red Cross stated firefighters had summoned them to 44 home fires already in January which is 60 percent more than the average of 28 a week in December.

“This big spike is a scary reminder that the lower the temperature the more likely the Red Cross will be called to a scene where people have lost everything,” said Mike Richardson, a leader of the volunteer team that visits those devastated by disasters.

The event will be happening on Jan. 13 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Clarkston area. For more information, you can visit Atlanta Red Cross.

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