Keep Valley residents safe from home fires by joining Valley of the Sun United Way for the next Smoke Alarm Awareness Walk on Saturday, October 17. United Way has partnered with the Phoenix Fire Department and the Glendale Fire Department for two concurrent walks where volunteers canvass low-income, high-risk areas and install life-saving smoke alarms. The walks are made possible with funding from First Things First.

In 2005, 16 Phoenix residents lost their lives in residential fires. In 2007, Phoenix did not lose a single life in a home fire due in part to heightened attention to this issue. During the last two Smoke Alarm Awareness Walks, over 650 smoke alarms were installed and more than 860 smoke alarm batteries were replaced.

The Phoenix Walk will be held in the Central City South neighborhood, near Seventh Avenue and Central. In Glendale, volunteers will target the area surrounding Isaac Imes Elementary School. If you are interested in volunteering, register online now. To learn more or register a group, contact Marin Davies at mdavies@vsuw.org or (602) 631-4843.

Smoke Alarm Awareness Walks are just one example of how Valley of the Sun United Way is improving the health and safety of neighborhoods. To learn more about how VSUW is improving lives in the community, visit vsuw.org/our-work.