Armed with determination and compassion, the Red Cross Club of LSU does not just install smoke alarms; the members are igniting hope and resilience in lower-income households, one life-saving device at a time.

The club hosted an event called “Sound the Alarm” on Saturday. In only a few hours, the volunteers and members of the club installed over 180 smoke alarms and made 119 homes in lower-income neighborhoods safer.

Biological sciences sophomore Mihir Babbar, 20, and junior Corinne David, 20, are the co-founders and presidents of the club. The two students started the club in January 2023 and have gained more than 150 members since. 

“We started the club because we volunteered in our community during our high school years in Mandeville,” Babbar said. “When we came to LSU we wanted to continue the same volunteering. We found an opportunity to start the Red Cross Club and help our local community, while fostering a sense of community involvement.”

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Fire fatalities affect families nationwide. The Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal says that every year in the United States, 82% of fire deaths and 76% of all fire injuries occur in the home. Most of these cases are due to the lack of a working smoke alarm.

“We wanted to be able to spread awareness of the need in the Baton Rouge community,” David said. “The Red Cross club was the perfect way to make an impact.”
This is the third Sound the Alarm event for the Red Cross Club of LSU. At the previous event, the members installed over 200 smoke alarms in Marrero, Louisiana. The members also take frequent trips to smaller areas to install smoke alarms. The Saturday event, though, was the largest so far, with 75 LSU sudents and over 100 volunteers, David said. 

The club first hosted a bag preparation event weeks before Sound the Alarm to ensure that each group had everything needed to correctly install the alarms. Members of the club gathered at the Baton Rouge American Red Cross office to pack duffle bags filled with smoke alarms, tools, directions and other information the participants would need as they entered homes to survey and install the alarms. 

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Thirty groups of students and volunteers went to different neighborhoods in Baton Rouge to install alarms, including members of the EMS club of LSU. The event targeted the area of Old South Baton Rouge, a neighborhood located just past the north side of LSU’s campus. Each group was given a route to ensure that the teams covered as much area as possible. 

“As a member of the Red Cross Club, I was excited to participate because I know how big of an impact we can make on the local community,” Anya Ferruzzi, an animal sciences major said. “What we’re doing can really save a life.”

Sound the Alarm is not the only event the club hosts during the school year. The club meets once a month and hosts several service events that provide students the opportunity to receive service hours, while giving back to the community. Details about future events and meetings can be found on the club’s Instagram.

The Red Cross Club also works with other clubs and campus organizations. Earlier this month, the club hosted a service event with Delta Gamma to create Valentine’s Day cards for students at the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired. The club plans on hosting more events to stay involved in the community, such as an event to teach children about fire safety and readiness. 

“We are very grateful for the positive impact we’ve been able to make through volunteering,” Babbar said.