Volunteering with the Red Cross: Hebah Ali

Hebah talks to a local resident
about fire safety in 2017.

Hebah Ali (Queens, N.Y.) shares about her work as an American Red Cross volunteer. 

Being a volunteer with the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign was a blessed opportunity for me to interact with our community and help them stay safe from fire accidents. 

Not only did I learn how to install the alarms in the right spots of the house, but we had to ensure that all the households and the families we visited were aware of causes of potential fire and that they had a strategy to escape just in two minutes if a fire ever broke out at their home.

The fire safety checklist and escape plan are available on the American Red Cross website. During shifts I would walk through the checklist with the home residents, demonstrate the potential risks and discuss solutions as we walked through their homes. I would also emphasize the use of the escape plan to draw exits that everyone in the house could be aware of and plan to use in case of a fire. The plan should also include a meeting point after the escape to make sure everyone is out of the house. 

It only takes these few items on the checklist and planning to save lives. I can’t wait to be out helping make families safe again.