National Fire Protection Association is celebrating Fire Prevention Week from October 3-9, and this year’s theme is “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!” The campaign is designed to educate people about the importance of smoke alarms and encourages everyone to take the steps necessary to update and maintain their home’s smoke alarm protection.
According to the latest statistics, U.S. fire departments responded to 386,500 home fires in 2008, and these fires killed 2,755 people and injured 13,160. The good news is that smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a reported fire in half. Here are some ways you can ensure that you have sufficient protection from home fires:
Make sure you have at least one working smoke alarm on each level of your home. Consider installing interconnected smoke alarms which are more likely to operate and alert occupants to a fire.
Smoke rises, so install alarms high on a wall or on a ceiling following manufacturer’s instructions.
Test alarms each month and never disconnect the batteries. In more than half of the reported home fires in which smoke alarms were present but did not operate, batteries were missing or disconnected.
Replace your smoke alarms every 10 years.
