By: Diana Johnsen
djohnsen@kcautv.com
It's not something you typically expect to see on an early Saturday morning.
The Iowa State Fire Marshal knocking on your door, asking if he can install smoke alarms.
"They ended up putting another one in and we still have another two to get," said Joe Holst of Lake City after the fire marshal visited his house.
On Saturday, several volunteers of the American Red Cross and local fire crews were going door to door throughout the town of Lake City, Iowa installing not only alarms, but perhaps a little "peace of mind" as well.
Being dubbed as the "Pierson-Kraft Smoke Alarm Project" in remembrance of Tyra Pierson, her son Xavier and Tyra's siblings Madison and Wyatt who lost their lives in a house fire last month.
It was Pierson's family that asked for the initiative, in hopes of preventing anyone else's family from ever having to experience what they have.
It was an initiative that volunteers were happy to take on, especially this time of year.
"This is the reason for the season, people working together and volunteering," said Bob Kirschbaum with the American Red Cross. "We hope this is a model used not only here but across the whole state."
Over 400 smoke alarms have been installed and the message of fire safety within the home has been shared.
State Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds said, "It's a really interesting thing you find out is that kids do great fire drills in school; we can evacuate a school in a 1:30, and if you ask them if they've ever done a fire drill at home, the parents look at each other and go, oh no."
