EVERETT — The American Red Cross is distributing more than 1,000 free smoke alarms in Snohomish County as part of a campaign to prevent fire-related deaths.
The program overlaps with efforts to help the Stillaguamish Valley recover from the fatal March mudslide and prepare for future emergencies.
Hundreds of the alarms are going to Oso, Darrington and surrounding areas. The Everett Fire Department is tasked with getting alarms out to local mobile home parks by mid-January. The Arlington Fire Department is set to get 250 alarms, and the Oso Fire District received a big box.
The program is expected to continue for another four years, said Jamie Gravelle, disaster services manager for the Snohomish County chapter of the Red Cross.
About 630 of the alarms have been distributed, with another 400 going out next week, she said.
In the Stillaguamish Valley, the alarm program was partially funded from mudslide donation dollars. Countywide, it’s also funded through the Red Cross national smoke alarms campaign.
As of mid-September, the Red Cross had received nearly $4.7 million in donations related to the mudslide. Roughly half of that already has been spent or earmarked for specific projects, according to the agency’s six-month report. Updated figures, including the cost of the smoke alarms, weren’t available this week due to the holidays, Gravelle said.
The national smoke alarms campaign was designed to help those living in areas with a history of fires and those who might be more vulnerable to fires, including the elderly and the low income, Gravelle said.
At least 49 people died in fires in Snohomish County between May 2004 and December 2012, according to state data. Five fatal fires were reported here in 2013 and two in 2014, most recently in May at a south Everett apartment complex. At least five of the county’s fire deaths in the past decade have been children, data show.
Partners in the Red Cross program include the cities of Arlington, Darrington and Everett, Senior Services of Snohomish County, and the fire districts in Oso, Rural Arlington and Getchell. Alarms also went to the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe and the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians.
“As they’ve got the time and the staffing they can get them out,” Gravelle said. “They know the neighbors better than we do and they’ve got the contacts.”
A new volunteer took over the project in December.
In the Stilly Valley, the Red Cross has been guided by strict rules for how donation dollars can be spent, Gravelle said. That includes efforts to improve emergency preparedness and prevention.
The conversation is, “How do we help the whole community to be a little more resilient as we move forward?” Gravelle said.
The Red Cross still is addressing unmet needs for mudslide victims using community donations, Gravelle said.
“The level of generosity from the public was just amazing,” she said.
From early on, donation dollars were used for funeral and memorial expenses, medical equipment, health care and counseling. Long-term recovery work at the Red Cross also focuses on housing, furniture and individual survivor needs, in addition to “community preparedness and rebuilding efforts in coordination with local partners,” the Red Cross mudslide report says.
To get the word out about smoke alarms in the Everett area, the Red Cross plans to go door-to-door in mobile home parks. That’s because mobile homes can be more susceptible to fires, and mobile home fires can be particularly deadly, Gravelle said.
In Oso and Darrington, they’ve asked local groups already entrenched in the community for help spreading the word, Gravelle said. The plan for Darrington still is being worked out, though 500 backpacks containing basic emergency supplies also are being given to families living in the Darrington School District.
“It’s nothing fancy, for sure, but it’s a starting point,” Gravelle said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
Learn more
For more information, contact the local American Red Cross headquarters in Everett at 425-252-4103.
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