What happened while you were gone?
You just got back from a much needed vacation and you are back to work, but what went on in your home while you were away? Did the battery in your smoke alarm die? How do you know? Have you checked your smoke alarms this month? This year? Ever? If you push the test button and the smoke alarm sounds, it does not mean that the battery is good enough to function if your home looses power. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates that 96 percent of homes have at least one smoke alarm, however as many as 25 percent of those smoke alarms are missing the battery or contain a dead battery. Since 70 percent of home-fire deaths occur in the 25 percent of homes without working smoke alarms, it just makes sense to ensure your smoke alarms are working properly.
The fire service recommends that smoke alarms be tested monthly, and the batteries replaced annually. You may have seen our banner on the fire station that reminds you to change your battery in the fall when you change your clocks back to standard time. If your smoke alarm starts to occasionally emit a single chirp, it is usually an indication that the battery has gone dead and should be replaced immediately. Keeping a spare battery for your smoke alarm in your home at all times is a great way to ensure that your smoke alarm will never be without the needed energy to save your life. It seems as though the battery always goes dead in the middle of the night leading some people to remove the battery to make the smoke alarm be quiet. If you do not have a replacement handy, when will you remember to take time out of your busy schedule to buy a replacement battery and get it installed? Will it be before or after a fire that can kill you in your sleep? Most fire victims succumb to the toxic gases given off during a fire long before the flames ever reach them. NFPA also recommends that you replace your smoke alarms every 10 years. Some of the new models come with a ten year battery installed. This feature is ideal for those smoke alarms mounted in locations that are hard to access for replacing batteries. However, they still need to be tested monthly.
Most fire deaths occur in the sleeping areas of a home, while most fires start in the living areas. That is why smoke alarms are required to be placed in every sleeping room and in the area that provides access to the sleeping rooms. This placement provides for smoke detection in the areas between where most fires start and where most fire deaths occur. In new construction at least one smoke alarm is required on each level of multi-level homes and one should be placed at the top of any stairwells.
In homes with children we advise you take the opportunity of testing your smoke alarms to talk to your children about fire safety. Tell them what to do when they hear the smoke alarm. Work with them to create and evacuation plan for your home, complete with two ways out of every bedroom. Establish a meeting place for the family to gather, and stress the importance of NEVER going back into a burning building.
Through various news reports we have heard about some recent fire fatalities here in the bay area. We are asking your help to make sure that the next one is not in Marin County.
If you have any questions about fire safety in your home please feel free to contact your local fire department.