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Red Cross Offers Smoke Alarms for the Hearing Impaired According to a recent American Red Cross survey, 80 percent of Americans do not know that home fires are the most common disaster in the United States. Since the first of the year, the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Red Cross helped more than 140 families recover from fires in their homes. As part of our mission to help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies, the Greater Kansas City Chapter has for years offered a free smoke alarm program. Funded by a generous grant from State Farm Insurance, this program targets homeowners who have hardships affording or installing smoke alarms to help reduce injury, death and property loss caused by fire. Additionally, trained Red Cross volunteers can install the smoke alarms and discuss fire safety with members of a household. In an effort to take fire safety prevention a step further, the Chapter is now offering smoke alarms designed for the hearing impaired. “For people who are hearing impaired, a traditional smoke alarm may not provide adequate safety,” explained Rebecca Nafzinger, Red Cross community disaster education program manager. “And, after receiving requests from residents for smoke alarms of this nature, we realized there was a need. Fortunately, State Farm’s sponsorship has turned this need into a possibility for our Chapter.” The Chapter is providing two varieties of smoke alarms to ensure the safety of hearing impaired individuals and families in the Kansas City area. The first utilizes a strobe light as the alerting device, and the second sends a signal from the transmitter to the receiver that causes a vibration that notifies a sleeping individual. To request a smoke alarm designed for the hearing impaired, please call the smoke alarm hotline at (816) 931-6662 ext. 5242. To learn more about the American Red Cross free smoke alarm program, call Rebecca Nafzinger at (816) 931-6662 ext. 5237. Back to News American Red Cross Greater Kansas City Chapter 211 W. Armour Blvd. Kansas City, MO 64111 USA         Phone 816-931-8400 Fax 816-531-7306 © 2003-2008 The American Red Cross. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy