American Red Cross Joins with City of Sacramento to Launch “Team FireStopper” Safety and Education Campaign

The American Red Cross Capital Region Chapter teamed with the City of Sacramento Fire Department and the Oak Park Neighborhood Association on Saturday to launch “Team FireStopper,” a fire safety and education program aimed to reduce the occurrences and impacts of house fires.

Team FireStopper is a new disaster mitigation program that raises fire prevention awareness using targeted community outreach and fire safety seminars to encourage communities to be proactive in their fire preparedness efforts. Today’s seminar, held at the Oak Park Community Center in Sacramento, welcomed 55 registered participants from the local community to receive hands-on experience planning and preparing for fire emergencies.

“On average, our local volunteers respond to an emergency once every 21 hours, with over 90 percent of those emergencies being house fires,” said Dawn Angelo, Chief Executive Officer for the Red Cross Capital Region. “While we hope to never experience such a crisis, it is important that every person learns how to plan, prepare, and react just in case.”

Attendees at today’s event rotated through several education stations, each showcasing a different tool to be used in preparing for an emergency. Demonstrations included how to build a “go-kit” of emergency supplies, coordinating an evacuation plan, making emergency preparations for pets, and basic instruction on hands-only CPR.

In addition, participants were given a tour of nearby Sacramento Fire Department Station 6, one of the nation’s busiest fire stations.

“Over the years, we have witnessed situations that could have been prevented if those involved were equipped with information to keep them safe,” said Chief Ray Jones of the City’s Fire Department. “By combining our efforts with the American Red Cross Capital Region Chapter and the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, we hope community members will benefit from the program and more actively prepare for fire emergencies.”

Community participation in today’s event was the result of a recent door-to-door educational canvass coordinated by the Red Cross and the Oak Park Neighborhood Association during which local residents were provided FireStopper information and invited to register for today’s seminar.

The American Red Cross Capital Region Chapter is proud to introduce Team FireStopper and looks forward to replicating similar events throughout our 11-county service area. For more information about Team FireStopper, visit http://www.redcross.org/capitalregion.