Editorial

Be properly prepared for a fire in your home

Posted

By now most people are familiar with their local fire departments’ reminders to change the batteries in their smoke detectors every six months — usually when we move clocks ahead or back. But this year, fire departments have a new suggestion: “Hear the beep where you sleep: Every bedroom needs a working smoke alarm” is the theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 4-10.

The National Fire Protection Association, a global nonprofit organization that provides information on fire prevention, recommends a smoke alarm in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of a home. New York state law requires that homes have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Fire officials have good reason to give us periodic reminders. Half of all home fire deaths in the U.S. occur between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when most people are sleeping, according to the NFPA. Having a working smoke alarm in a home cuts the risk of dying in a fire in half.

According to John V. Murray, chief instructor at the Nassau County Firefighters Museum & Education Center, three of every five home fire deaths in the U.S. result from fires in houses with no smoke alarms or alarms that aren’t working. “Smoke alarms can make the difference between life and death in a fire by alerting people in enough time to escape safely,” Murray says. “Fire Prevention Week presents the perfect opportunity to better educate the public about this potentially life-saving message.”

Here’s the experts’ advice:

• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of your home, including the basement.
• Connect all smoke alarms throughout the home. This way, when one sounds, they all do.
• Test them at least once a month by pushing the test button.
• Replace an alarm that is 10 years old, or sooner if it doesn’t respond properly.
• Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the alarm and what to do when they hear it.

Properly functioning smoke alarms can save your life, and those of your family members.