In the wake of a fatal fire early Saturday morning in Mahoning Township, local American Red Cross volunteers are working to help prevent future tragedies.

Around 15 volunteers gathered Monday afternoon in the Lehighton Area Middle School parking lot before canvassing the area to install smoke detectors in homes where residents gave them approval. "We're going door-to-door in the neighborhood where we just had this fatal fire, making sure neighbors know we are here to help," said Michele Baehr, Executive Director of the American Red Cross Pocono Mountains Chapter. "If they allow us to go in their home, we have teams of three who will install smoke detectors in their home and educate them about escape plans, etc."Vahnne Gower, 9, died when her family's home went up in flames in the 300-block of Beaver Run Drive.Her father Troy and brother Trey were hospitalized.Officials were on scene investigating Monday, but have not released a cause of the fire.Fire doubles every two minutes, Baehr said, making the educational part of Monday's neighborhood canvassing as, if not more, important than the detector installation."It is important people are educated on how to get out of their homes," she said. "Everyone should have a meeting place outside the home to account for all family members."The Red Cross set a goal to reduce fire deaths by 25 percent over the next few years through its "Sound the Alarm" campaign.If residents were not home when volunteers stopped at their house, an information pamphlet was left hanging on their doorknob."We found a lot of Carbon County homes either don't have smoke detectors or the residents pull out the 9-volt batteries," Baehr said. "What we install is a 10-year lithium battery smoke detector so residents don't have to worry about it for 10 years."Volunteers have targeted different neighborhoods across the area in the past several years, seeking to get smoke detectors in as many homes as possible.The Red Cross planned on hitting as many homes as time allowed Monday.All alarms and the equipment they were installed with was purchased with donations from the community, Baehr said."Our goal is to prevent human suffering in the face of emergencies and hopefully we were able to take a few steps toward that today," she said.Mahoning Valley Volunteer Fire Company partnered with the Red Cross in the distribution of smoke detectors.