Toledo Edison Sounds the Alarm for Fire Safety
(L.) Organizer Brad Gillespie in action for Sound the Alarm – works to complete an alarm installation. (R.) Supervisors Matt Miller, Regional Operations Line and Substation, and Pete Dery, Distribution Protection & Grid Modernization, were two of many volunteers helping Toledo Edison meet its 1,000th installation milestone.
October 6, 2025
In a powerful display of community spirit and safety advocacy, a group of Toledo Edison employees recently teamed up with the American Red Cross to install free smoke alarms in homes across northwest Ohio.
The effort is part of the Red Cross’s Sound the Alarm* campaign, which aims to reduce fire-related deaths and injuries by ensuring families have working smoke alarms and fire escape plans.
In September, during Emergency Preparedness Month, Toledo Edison volunteers reached a major milestone in the process: they installed their 1,000th smoke alarm since joining the initiative in 2017.
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Protect your household Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 5-11 – and smoke alarms are critically essential to protecting your family’s safety in the event of a fire. Fires happen more often than you may think. In Northwest Ohio, for example, a fire is reported every 19 hours. Do you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home? The Red Cross recommends checking smoke alarms monthly to ensure they’re working properly. It’s a small step that could save your life. |
“We love giving back to the community we serve,” said Toledo Edison’s Brad Gillespie, Manager, Customer Accounts, who helps organize the annual volunteer effort. “We are part of the community. We want to keep people safe. That’s key for FirstEnergy in everything that we do and to see it in action like this is special.”
Smoke alarms save lives
According to the Red Cross, working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by more than 50 percent. That’s why campaigns like Sound the Alarm are so critical and why volunteers are so valued.
“We really appreciate trusted members of the community like Toledo Edison employees helping us in this mission,” said Rachel Hepner-Zawodny, Executive Director of the Red Cross of Western Lake Erie. “It just warms your heart, because people are really grateful.”
Brad says it’s never difficult to fill volunteer spots for the event. “The team is always eager to make a difference,” he said.
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