By Mike Aldax
The American Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region hosted its Sound the Alarm event at the Shields-Reid Community Center in Richmond on Saturday to provide free fire safety equipment and education to local households.
The initiative is part of a national effort to reduce home fire deaths by installing smoke alarms and helping families create emergency escape plans. The Richmond event was sponsored by Chevron Richmond to support local emergency preparedness and life‑saving services, priorities identified through the Community Action Plan, with the added opportunity to focus on the Shields‑Reid neighborhood as a fenceline community adjacent to the refinery.
The event began with a morning assembly where teams were organized and briefed on their assignments. Volunteers from the Red Cross, the local community, Chevron Richmond, and construction management company Vanir formed three-person teams consisting of an installer, a documenter, and an educator.
These teams followed up on appointments made during a door-to-door canvassing effort held the previous week. The teams visited dozens of homes to install the hardware and provide safety briefings where they helped families create emergency plans and prepare “go bags.”
The local effort drew Red Cross volunteers from across the region, though most participants were local residents. Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez, Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia, Richmond Fire Chief Aaron Osorio, and Chevron Richmond Fire Chief Scott Joseph all attended to support the initiative.
Longtime Red Cross volunteer Michael Lance said proactive prevention is a priority for the organization.
“As much as we respond to people with fires and we help them after fire, if we can prevent a fire, that saves that trip helping them after the fire,” Lance said.
Justin Mueller, regional CEO for the Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region, noted that the program has saved more than 2,600 lives coast-to-coast, including 33 lives in the Greater Bay Area.
“Ninety percent of our workforce is our volunteers,” Mueller said. “And those are volunteers from all walks of life, all different groups, all different areas.”
Chief Osorio said he appreciates how Sound the Alarm events enable his firefighters to chat with residents when they aren’t being impacted by an emergency.
“Today is great, because we interact with the community when it’s not their worst day, and so I just want to continue this relationship as long as we can,” Osorio said. He highlighted that the department maintains a focus on these installations throughout the year to ensure residents are protected before an emergency occurs.
Supervisor Gioia said Sound the Alarm is just one of many ways the Red Cross helps people in the community. He recalled a recent event in which Red Cross supported 28 immigrant families displaced by an El Cerrito apartment fire. He also lauded the organization’s role in providing life-saving blood and platelet transfusions for his son, Chris, during his treatment for aplastic anemia.
Mayor Eduardo Martinez reflected on how essential Red Cross devices are for every household regardless of the resident’s situation.
“I know that putting fire alarms is such a small thing, but it’s also such a big thing, connecting democracy, a big thing for citizens who can’t get it on a ladder to put them up,” Martinez said. He recounted a personal experience where an alarm alerted him to a kitchen mishap and concluded that such incidents save lives, property, and city resources.
Lily Rahnema, Chevron Richmond community engagement manager, noted the importance of these local connections.
“Chevron is proud to sponsor and support such an impactful event that directly addresses the safety needs of our neighbors,” Rahnema said. “It was truly rewarding to work alongside the community and our partners to make these homes safer, and we had a great time engaging with everyone involved in this effort.”
