A Rich Perspective - Filed under 'smoke alarms'

Four Minutes to Save Your Life

One of the greatest challenges fire and life safety educators have is to help more people understand the importance of working smoke alarms in the home. Perhaps we've said it so many times that people simply tune out the message. The fact is -- almost one-fourth of home fire deaths happen where there are NO working smoke alarms. If we know people die from fire in homes where there is no alarm -- or no working alarm -- why do we continue to ignore the message?

Take four minutes to watch the video in this post. Your life -- and the lives of your loved ones -- is worth four minutes of your time, right?

(download)

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) launched the Install. Inspect. Protect. Campaign, encouraging people to install and maintain smoke alarms and sprinklers, practice fire escape plans, and perform a home safety walk-through.

The USFA recommends installing smoke alarms both inside and outside of sleeping areas and on every level of your home; testing them monthly; changing alkaline batteries at least once a year; and installing ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual sensor smoke alarms. For more information, visit www.usfa.dhs.gov/smokealarms or call the USFA Publications Office at (800) 561-3356.

Filed under // FEMA USFA fire and life safety education fire department fire prevention fire safety home escape plans protection safety education smoke alarms

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Fatal Fires Demonstrate Importance of Smoke Alarms - NBC4

This story ran December 14, 2010 on Columbus, OH station NBC4. It was reported by Tom Brockman.

Cartmill said so far this year, 138 people have died in fires in Ohio. That's one fewer than last year at this point and 39 fewer than two years ago.

Cartmill said when looking at those recent fatal fires, there really aren't any similarities other than the fact the homes in which the fires occurred either didn't have a smoke alarm or that alarm wasn't working.

A full transcript of this story can be found at the NBC4i web site.

Filed under // NBC4 Ohio Division of State Fire Marshal fatal fires fire prevention fire safety preparedness smoke alarms

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Fire Prevention Week October 3-9

Fire Prevention Week October 3-9

The theme for Fire Prevention Week 2010 is “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!” On average, 436 children die in home fires every year. Working smoke alarms are an essential piece of safety equipment which should be in every home. If your family lives in a home with working smoke alarms the likelihood of dying in a fire is half that compared to a home without working alarms. Use the tips below to learn how to keep your family safe from fire.

Top tips for smoke alarms

Put a smoke alarm on every level of your home, outside each sleeping area, and in every bedroom.

Smoke alarms can be battery-operated or electrically hardwired in your home and are available at a variety of price points.

If you have hearing problems, use alarms with flashing strobe lights and vibration.

Test smoke alarms every month. Replace batteries once a year, even if alarms are hardwired.

Test your smoke alarms at night to see if your child will wake up and respond to the alarm. Children sleep more deeply and may not wake up. If your child does not wake up to the alarm, try an alarm where you can program your voice to alert him or her.

Mount smoke alarms high on walls or ceilings since smoke rises. Ceiling-mounted alarms should be installed at least 4 inches away from the nearest wall. Wall-mounted alarms should be installed 4 to 12 inches away from the ceiling.

Replace all smoke alarms every 10 years.

Consider installing both ionization alarms, which are better at sensing flaming fires, and photoelectric alarms, which are better at sensing slow, smoky fires, or dual sensor alarms.

Learn more about Fire Prevention Week

National Fire Prevention Association

Learn more about fire safety

Fire Prevention

Burn and Scald Prevention