EATON— Seven times a day, someone dies in a home fire in the United States.

On Saturday, July 18, the Dayton-Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, Henny Penny, Preble County CERT Team, and the Eaton Fire Department are trying to change that in Eaton by installing free smoke alarms and developing evacuation plans to families in the community.

The effort is part of a larger Home Fire Preparedness Campaign created by the American Red Cross with the aim of reducing deaths and injuries from home fires by 25 percent before the time the campaign ends in 2020. To date, the American Red Cross has developed more than 15,000 household fire escape plans nationally, installed 34,000 smoke alarms and replaced 6,000 smoke alarm batteries. At least seven lives have been saved as a result of this campaign.

“The best way to escape a home fire is to know the home is on fire,” said Dayton-Area Chapter Executive Director Laura Seyfang, “and the best way to know if there is a fire is to have a smoke alarm.”

The smoke alarm installation event is being done in partnership with the Eaton Fire Department, Henny Penny Corp., Preble County CERT Team and Skyline Chili.