Home Fire-Preparedness Evaluations

A woman wearing a Red Cross vest speaks to someone outside of a house with serious fire damage

Problem

Home fire risk—especially from wildfires—is growing and changing.

In the United States, seven people die every day from a home fire and more than $7 billion in property damage occurs each year from home fires. These numbers do not account for deaths and property damage from wildfires, which are a growing threat across the country. To save lives, the American Red Cross launched a national Home Fire Campaign in 2014 wherein volunteers and partners teach families about home fire safety and install smoke alarms for free.

More recently, the organization recognized the growing threat of U.S. wildfires and expanded its in-home fire-preparedness efforts by launching a Wildfire Preparedness Program designed to support families in high wildfire-risk areas. Program volunteers help households plan an escape route, pack a “Go Bag,” and conduct in-home visits to help residents prepare their home for a wildfire.

Solution

NORC is conducting annual surveys to inform the Red Cross’ evolving fire preparedness efforts

Since 2015, NORC has been evaluating the efficacy of the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign by surveying and comparing two groups—households that participated in the program and those that didn’t. In 2023, we also assessed the efficacy of the relatively new Wildlife Preparedness Program using a similar approach.

Each year, we work closely with the Red Cross to update our methodologies, determine the most salient survey questions, and provide additional insights through special projects such as a case study of program impacts in Kankakee, Illinois. Our close, multi-year partnership allows us to better understand how the program is evolving over time and to adapt our evaluations to best meet the Red Cross’s needs.

Result

Our research has shown that in-home visits are effective in preparing households for disasters.

Our evaluations have documented how the Red Cross’s efforts save lives. Notably, we found in-home visits to be particularly effective at preparing households for a fire. Households visited by a Home Fire Campaign volunteer have more smoke alarms, are more likely to have a fire escape plan, and feel more prepared to respond to a fire. A case study in Kankakee, Illinois, further revealed that highly saturating an area with in-home visits can lead to fewer and less costly fire incidences by ensuring every home has a working smoke alarm.

Our initial evaluation of the Wildfire Preparedness Program in 2023 also showed that households which agreed to an in-home visit were more likely to be signed up for local emergency alert systems, have packed a “Go Bag”, and have a plan in the event of an evacuation order.