SURPRISE, AZ — A fire that took the life of a deaf woman in the West Valley has the Red Cross asking: do you have a plan if your house catches fire?
A January house fire in Surprise, located within a community near Loop 303 and Grand Avenue, was so intense that firefighters couldn’t even get inside until a half hour after multiple water lines were used to put it out.
Once inside, officials discovered what many in the surrounding deaf community feared — 82-year-old Cynthia Minter was killed in the blaze.
Weeks later, officials still don’t know what started it all.
”She had a big heart. And she just lost her husband about a year ago,” said Emory Marsh, a close family friend.
After ABC15 first covered the fire, the Red Cross sought to remind the community that they can come to qualifying homes and install smoke detectors.
In fact, over the past decade, they’ve installed 2.6 million free smoke detectors and have been able to save 2,000 lives across the country.
For members of our deaf and hard-of-hearing community, there’s an entirely different smoke detector that can be installed to help keep them safe.
“I was quite sad about it, along with our Red Cross community, that people were not aware of a program we had where we can install detectors, even bed-shaker alarms,” said Ken Edelblute with the Red Cross.
These two-part smoke detectors listen for the beep from a traditional smoke detector, and that causes a device placed under a bed to shake, alerting a deaf person of a fire.
The Red Cross also urges all households to have a plan with multiple exits to get out of a home if there’s a fire, along with one meeting location for when first responders arrive.
If you need a smoke detector, you can go to RedCross.org or call 602-336-6469, and they can help you get the appropriate smoke detector.
There is also a special ASL Home Fire Resource Hub through the Red Cross with resources, ways to request a home safety visit, and more.
