Safety Starts with Community

Armed with drills, ladders, and compassion, ABF, our partners and volunteers spend their Saturday mornings knocking on doors, installing alarms, and empowering their neighbors to keep their community safe. Each new smoke alarm represents not just safety — but hope.

Hope that spreads from doorstep to doorstep as ABF and partners hit the ground in communities across Arizona through our Community Smoke Alarm Walks.

Impact & Compassion in Action

So far this Fall, volunteers in Flagstaff, Prescott Valley, and Maricopa joined forces with local fire departments to install 253 smoke alarms in at-risk homes. These homes were identified by local fire departments as neighborhoods most vulnerable to house fires. In some, families had already suffered the heartbreak of a fatal fire. Our teams were determined to make sure it never happens again.

Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority Fire Inspector Carrie Johnson shared how meaningful these community events are, especially for people who need specialized alarms for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She says the relief she sees on her neighbors’ faces is the reason she signs up to volunteer for the event year after year.  “To finally have something that is unique and special to them that helps them is just phenomenal,” Carrie said. “You just see their faces light up. It’s like you gave them the crown jewels!”

Stories like these remind us why we do this work. Every alarm, every visit, every conversation has the power to save a life.

October’s Fire Prevention Month: Plan. Prepare.Prevent.

While our volunteers go door-to-door, ABF has also launched a social media awareness campaign to coincide with Fire Prevention Month. Throughout October, we’re sharing crucial safety reminders and life-saving tips to help Arizonans take action right at home. From highlighting a 27-year-old smoke alarm that our volunteers discovered and replaced in Prescott Valley, to emphasizing that families have just two minutes to escape during a house fire — every message reinforces one simple truth: working smoke alarms save lives.

Of course, fire safety doesn’t end when October does. Over the next four weeks, our volunteers and partners will bring these life-saving walks to Peoria, Sedona, Florence, Mescal, Tempe, Tucson, and Buckeye — continuing our mission to make every Arizona home a safer one.