In an effort to better educate communities throughoutthe U.S. about smoke alarm recommendations, thenonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) ispromoting “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!”as the theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Weekcampaign, October 3-9. NFPA has been the officialsponsor of Fire Prevention Week for 88 years.

Many homes may not have any smoke alarms, notenough smoke alarms, alarms that are too old, or alarmsthat are not working. Smoke alarms are needed in everyhome, on every level (including the basement), outsideeach sleeping area and inside each bedroom. And, if asmoke alarm is 10 years or older, it needs to be replaced.

Smoke alarms can mean the difference between life anddeath in a fire. NFPA statistics show that working smokealarms cut the chance of dying in a fire nearly in half. Butthey must be working properly to do so. The association’sdata shows that many homes have smoke alarms that aren’tworking or maintained properly, usually because ofmissing, disconnected or dead batteries. Roughly two-thirds of all home fire deaths result from fires in homeswith no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

Interconnected smoke alarms offer the best protection;when one sounds, they all do. This is particularlyimportant in larger or multi-story homes, where the soundfrom distant smoke alarms may be reduced to the point thatit may not be loud enough to provide proper warning,especially for sleeping individuals.

“Most people have a sense of complacency aboutsmoke alarms because they already have one in theirhomes. Fire Prevention Week provides an excellentopportunity to re-educate people about smoke alarms, newtechnologies and expanded options for installation andmaintenance,” says Judy Comoletti, division manager forNFPA public education. “Ultimately, we want this year’scampaign to serve as a call to action for householdsnationwide to inspect their homes to ensure that theirfamilies have the full smoke alarm protection that’srecommended.”

Smoke alarms• Smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a reported fire in half.• Overall, three-quarters of all U.S. homes have at least one

working smoke alarm.• Each year, nearly 3,000 people die in U.S. home fires.• In 2003-2006, roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths re-

sulted from home fires in homes with no smoke alarms or noworking smoke alarms.

• In more than half of the reported home fires in which thesmoke alarms were present but did not operate even thoughthe fire was large enough, batteries were missing or discon-nected. Nuisance alarms were the leading reason for discon-nected alarms.

• More than half of the smoke alarms found in reported firesand two-thirds of the alarms found in homes with fire deathswere powered by battery only.

• In a 2008 telephone survey, only 12% knew that smokealarms should be replaced every 10 years.

• Interconnected smoke alarms on all floors increase safety.Fire• Cooking is the #1 cause of home fires and injuries.• Smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths.• Heating is the second leading cause of home fires, fire deaths

and fire injuries.• Electrical failures or malfunctions are factors in roughly

50,000 reported fires each year.• Roughly 30, 000 intentionally set home structure fires are re-

ported each year.

FAST FACTS ABOUT SMOKEALARMS AND FIRE

• To learn more about “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You CanLive With!,” visit NFPA’s Web site atwww.firepreventionweek.org

• Test smoke alarms at least once a month using the testbutton, and make sure everyone in your home knows theirsound.

• If an alarm “chirps,”warning the battery is low,replace the battery rightaway.

• Replace all smoke alarms,including alarms that use10-year batteries and hard-wired alarms, whenthey’re 10 years old (orsooner) if they do notrespond properly whentested.

• Never remove or disable asmoke alarm.

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The NFPA offers the following tipsfor making sure smoke alarms aremaintained and working properly:

www.accentracu.org

REMEMBER TO TEST YOUR SMOKEDETECTORS ONCE A MONTH

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