This weekend, Red Cross Volunteers and Sioux Falls fire crews will be canvassing the Hayward neighborhood to stress the importance of working smoke detectors and having a fire plan.

Sioux Falls resident Gene Welsch knows just how important this life-saving program is. He lost his home in a fire earlier this year, but survived because of his Red Cross smoke detector that was installed just a few months prior.

“The main thing is take the time to get the appointments, make the phone call, the people are very responsive, and they work very hard to make it happen. and if it saves one person, then its worth it,” Welsch says.

The outreach program will take place in the Hayward neighborhood at 9:00 AM Saturday morning.

Crews plan to visit 1,100 homes to set up appointments with homeowners for smoke detector installation.

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