CO Safety Starts at Home: A Community-First Safety Approach

At GenTent, our mission has always been about more than protecting generators from the elements. It’s about safety as a focus in all efforts, especially as it pertains to disaster preparedness and protecting people. Over the years, we have upheld these values through philanthropic partnerships with various national and local safety organizations like the National Carbon Monoxide Awareness Association (NCOAA), National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM), Northeast CO Alliance (NCOA), and more.  

Most recently, our team volunteered as a local partner for the American Red Cross (ARC) - Northern New England Sound the Alarm event in Epping, NH. We worked alongside ARC volunteers, Team Rubicon, and the Epping Fire Department to install life-saving smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms at a senior-living community as part of their Home Fire Campaign.  

What Is the American Red Cross Home Fire Campaign? 

The Sound the Alarm event is part of the American Red Cross’s nationwide Home Fire Campaign, a long-standing initiative focused on reducing fire-related deaths and injuries. Since its launch, the program has helped save countless lives by: 

• Installing free smoke alarms in high-risk homes 

• Educating families on fire prevention 

• Helping residents build and practice escape plans 

• Raising awareness about home fire and CO safety 

We saw this impact firsthand in Epping. Many of the residents we met live alone and have limited mobility, and most of them did not have any or enough fire and CO alarms in their house. For them, having working alarms and a clear escape plan isn’t just helpful; it’s essential. 

We also educated residents on fire and CO safety, which included distributing educational materials such as the GenTent Portable Generator Safety Tips flyer, and helped each household create a personalized home fire escape plan, walking them through exactly what to do in an emergency: how to get out, where to meet, and how to call for help. These conversations turn abstract safety advice into actionable and objective procedures. It was a day filled with purpose, partnership, and direct community action. 

In New Hampshire, this program is particularly impactful due to the region’s older housing infrastructure, harsh winters, and increased reliance on alternative heating and backup power sources. These factors all elevate the risk of home fires and carbon monoxide exposure.  

We’re proud to say that in one day of collaborative grassroots efforts, we made 39 homes safer, installed 92 smoke alarms and 27 CO alarms, and served 60 people. 

New Hampshire as a National Leader in CO Safety 

This year’s campaign was especially meaningful because this January, the Red Cross NNE received over 2,000 carbon monoxide alarms through a federal grant from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), administered in New Hampshire through the State Fire Marshal’s Office.  

Carbon monoxide is invisible, odorless, and deadly. It can come from furnaces, fuel-burning appliances, fireplaces, and portable generators used during power outages. Too often, people don’t realize they’re being exposed until it’s too late. 

By placing CO alarms directly into homes, especially in senior communities, this grant helps close an enormous safety gap. It’s one of the clearest examples of how public funding, nonprofits, and local volunteers can work together to prevent tragedy before it happens. Using proactive opportunities like this to also educate people about CO dangers also demonstrated why New Hampshire far outpaces the rest of the country in CO Risk public awareness and behavior.  

As we’ve discussed in our recent blog, awareness is the single most powerful tool in preventing CO-related injuries and deaths. When people understand the risks and have access to proper detection, tragedies become preventable, not inevitable. 

The Impact You Don’t Always See 

By the end of the day in Epping, dozens of homes were safer than they had been just hours earlier. That means: 

• More individuals with early warning in a fire 

• More seniors protected from silent CO poisoning 

• More households with a clear plan during an emergency 

That’s the kind of impact that doesn’t always make headlines, but it saves lives. It's also the kind of impact that pays back in spades. 

Local fire departments dedicate countless hours, specialized training, and critical resources to respond to home fires and CO incidents every year, often putting their own lives at risk in the process. Red Cross NNE also responds to around 500 fires in the region every year, providing direct relief as well as financial assistance for food, clothing, and emergency shelter. Programs such as the Home Fire Campaign are investments into the safety of local communities. Backed by preventative knowledge and tools, individuals are much more likely to make safer choices, reduce risky behavior, and prepare for positive outcomes in the face of accidental disasters.  

How You Can Get Free Alarms 

If you’re an NH resident who needs fire and CO alarms in your home, we strongly encourage you to sign up for the American Red Cross Home Fire Campaign. It’s free. It’s simple. And it truly saves lives.  

If you live in any other state, you can find a local Home Fire Campaign here.  

At GenTent, We’ll Keep Showing Up 

We’re incredibly grateful to the American Red Cross for leading this life-saving work, and to every volunteer and first responder who made the Epping Sound the Alarm event a success. We’re proud to play even a small role in protecting our neighbors and look forward to volunteering at future events.