As recovery from Hurricane Lowell continues, American Red Cross volunteers and staff are also working to prepare Kauaʻi for brush fires.
On Saturday, Red Cross volunteers and staff visited Kaumakani Village to install 145 smoke alarms in 63 historic plantation homes.
On Sept. 11, the residents at Kaumakani Village prepared to evacuate due to a nearby brush fire. Luckily, the fire did not impact the community, but it served as a reminder that there is no time to waste when it comes to preparedness.
Many in the community were also recently impacted by Hurricane Lowell, including Sheri Waiʻaleʻale of Gay & Robinson, who manages the village.
“Red Cross, you have driven through our neighborhoods daily delivering rakes, shovels, and supplies,” Waiʻaleʻale said to a team of volunteers. “Your work makes a difference in the eyes of these kūpuna.”
She provided more than a dozen Red Cross representatives with background, history, cultural training, and orientation before they embarked on installing smoke alarms. This was the final stage to ensure every home in Kaumakani Village was equipped with smoke alarms.
“A lot of these homes are inhabited by retirees who were with the sugar plantation, so many of them are over 80 years old,” Waiʻaleʻale said. “You can imagine them growing up in that house as a child. So, their parents were in that home before them.”
Standing on a ladder, drill in hand, Red Cross Pacific Islands Region Chief Executive Officer Molly Schmidt installed alarm after alarm. She showed each tenant how to test their devices and encouraged them to call the Red Cross should batteries fail, though they have a 10-year life.
“At the Red Cross Hawaiʻi Chapter, we say preparedness is an act of aloha,” Schmidt said. “The American Red Cross is here 365 days a year and the work that we do with our communities to help people feel prepared and informed is of the utmost importance, because we are there when you need us for compassion and hope.”
This effort is part of the Red Cross’s home fire safety campaign that offers free smoke alarms and installation across the Hawaiian Islands. The campaign aims to have every community member feel informed, feel prepared, and know what to do during an emergency.
At each home, Red Cross workers reviewed fire evacuation plans, ways to harden their properties and homes against wildfire, along with reminders of specific fire protocols from property management.
Savannah Gibson, the Red Cross Hawaiʻi Kauaʻi representative, was part of a half-dozen installation teams.
“Installing these, even post-disaster, is important for this community,” Gibson said. “They were just hit with Hurricane Lowell, and then a day or two later, a brush fire came close to the village.”
“The residents have been super appreciative of the smoke alarm installations as well as getting information and education about how to better protect their homes from wildfires,” Gibson added.
Earlier this year, Deodoro Laput moved his family into a Kaumakani Village home. They moved from the Philippines after his wife landed a teaching job on Kauaʻi. After the smoke alarm installation, his 14-year-old daughter mapped out a fire evacuation plan for their home.
“It’s 100% safety for my family. I want to be sure my family is always safe,” Laput said.
Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half. On average, the American Red Cross responds to 65,000 disasters a year. The vast majority are home fires.
During the month of October, the Hawaiʻi Red Cross will be installing smoke alarms across the islands for anyone who is in need.
If you would like to receive a free smoke alarm, please call 808-739-8111 to place your request, and a Red Cross representative will schedule a time for installation.
