2024 Sound the Alarm event held in Bismarck

BISMARCK, ND ( KXNET ) — The American Red Cross serving Western North Dakota and the Bismarck Fire Department teamed up to offer free smoke alarm installations in some manufactured homes in the community. Officials say the initiative is very important.

“It saves lives. So if you have a working smoke alarm, it greatly enhances the probability that you’re going to get out of your home in order to be safe. So, that’s why we’re doing it,” says Zoe Wergeland Manstrom, executive director of American Red Cross of Western North Dakota.

The effort also helped provide home fire safety education to those in the manufactured home communities.

They aimed to reach 100 people whose homes will be made safer from home fire injuries and deaths.

“So, a fire safety plan is very important, especially with young children. So, everyone knows to get out,” comments Adam Miller, Deputy Fire Marshal of the Bismarck Fire Department. “We’ve been asking a lot of the people in their homes if both of their doors are working, front and rear exits. I mean, it’s key to get out. If you can’t get out the front, you have to get out the back. A lot of those mobile homes or manufactured homes have window egress, so the doors have to be working. So by knowing an evacuation plan, they know to get out of the home, know where to meet and who to call.”

Volunteers from American Red Cross of Western North Dakota say they saw a need for smoke alarms and decided to help out the community.

“So the American Red Cross, one of the programs, they do is,” says Brian Weigel, a volunteer with American Red Cross of Western North Dakota. “We’ll install smoke detectors to anyone that needs them. So today, we brought together several volunteers to just canvas neighborhoods who were a little bit higher need that and had some fires this winter. And so, the Red Cross saw a need and then we went door to door installing alarms.”

Officials say the alarms will be good for 10 years. The public is reminded to check their own alarms at least twice a year to ensure they are working properly.

The Red Cross says that those who missed the initiative or are in need of smoke alarms should visit their website here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KX NEWS.