A residential fire can be a horrible tragedy, especially when coupled with a loss of life.

Evacuating a home when flames erupt is a much more attainable task when smoke alarms are present and in working order.The local chapter of the American Red Cross set out Sunday to reduce the amount of homes in Lehighton without at least one smoke alarm with its first ever canvassing project.On Friday, volunteers went door-to-door asking residents if they needed smoke alarms and returned Sunday to install them free of charge."We had been partnering with local agencies on aging and getting alarms in several homes each month," said Paul Ringheiser, Red Cross volunteer and coordinator of Sunday's alarm distribution. "That was based on senior citizen names that we had received."When a 7-month-old infant died in an October fire along South First Street in the borough, efforts intensified."We really looked at it and said this is an area that could use a door-to-door canvassing project," Ringheiser explained.According to a recent phone survey by the National Fire Protection Association, almost 5 million households nationwide still do not have any smoke alarms.By Sunday afternoon, the Red Cross compiled a list of 50 homes in the borough for installations.From First Street to Ninth Street, teams with members of the Red Cross, Lehighton Fire Department and Retired Senior Volunteer Program of Carbon County installed the alarms.Publicity ahead of time helped as well.While Ninth Street was beyond where the Red Cross had originally intended to reach, an elderly woman read of the project in the Times News and called to add her name to the list."We not only install the alarms, but make sure the residents, especially the elderly, have a pre-planned escape route from the home in case of a disaster," said Ringheiser.Around 25 fire department personnel and 20 to 25 Red Cross volunteers turned out on the chilly Sunday and quickly went from home to home to reach as many residents as possible.The day ended with a pizza dinner at the fire company.Organizers were still compiling the numbers but Ringheiser figured over 150 alarms were installed."The nice thing about these alarms, all of which were donated, is that they are 10-year alarms," he said. "When the battery dies, it will be time to put in a new alarm. They're not activated until they clip onto the base."The local Red Cross chapter is based out of Stroudsburg and the inaugural project in Lehighton may lead to door-to-door efforts elsewhere."We're going to look at what worked and where we can improve, but we're very satisfied with today's results," Ringheiser said. "I was kept busy throughout the afternoon directing teams to different houses."