Fall Back Into Fire Safety

As daylight saving ends, it is also a good time to change your smoke alarm batteries. Alarms should have their batteries changed regularly and tested once a month. All too often, a battery is removed and not replaced, putting a home’s occupants at risk. There’s no way to predict when a fire will occur, so even one night without an operational smoke alarm can be dangerous. According to the National Fire Protection Association, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in properties without working smoke alarms. A working smoke alarm significantly increases your chances of surviving a deadly home fire.

The Tennessee Daily Herald recommends these smoke alarm safe practices:

◆ Install at least one smoke alarm on every level of the home, including the basement. For best protection, smoke alarms should be installed inside and outside sleeping rooms. Make sure everyone can hear the alarm and knows what it sounds like;

◆ For the best protection, equip your home with a combination of ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual-sensor alarms;

◆ Smoke alarms with non-replaceable (long-life) batteries are available and are designed to remain effective for up to 10 years. If the alarm chirps on these units, warning that the battery is low, replace the entire smoke alarm right away;

◆ Test alarms once a month using the test button. Replace the entire alarm if it’s more than 10 years old or doesn’t work properly when tested;

◆ Devise a fire escape plan with two ways out of every room and a common meeting place. Share and practice the plan with all who live in the home, including children;

◆ When a smoke alarm sounds, get out of the home immediately and go to your pre-planned meeting place to call 911.

The CDC finds that cooking and smoking are the main causes of fire related deaths and residential fires. The New York City fire department states that 75% of their worst case fires occurred in homes without a smoke alarm. Although the number of fatalities and injuries caused by residential fires has declined gradually over the past several decades, many residential fire-related deaths remain preventable and continue to pose a significant public health problem.

 

This month, SafetySkills is offering the Fire Safety online safety training course for free. While this course is designed for offices and workplace training, it contains useful information that can be applied to home situations. The 20 minute course will help the viewer to understand the importance of knowing and understanding an evacuation plan and what to do in case of a fire in the workplace. The course also touches on portable fire extinguisher techniques and tips. Please visit our free course of the month page for more information on this month’s free course and to get started by signing up for a SafetySkills Direct account.