Consider this your friendly Fire Family reminder to change the batteries in your smoke detectors while you’re changing all the clocks in your house. I will note that I did not change the batteries in our smoke detectors today because my back is giving me fits and I thought hanging out on the ladder seemed like a bad idea. However, I’m going to bet good money that FireDad will change ours tomorrow.

Some fast facts:

• Only 6% of U.S. homes are not equipped with smoke alarms, yet 40% of residences with fire had no installed alarm. (Source.)
• On Friday, November 4, 2011, 12 residential fire fatalities were reported by news media throughout the United States. (Source.)
• Some fire departments offer reduced price, or even free, smoke alarms. Contact your local fire department’s non-emergency phone number for more information.

When did you last test your smoke detector batteries? Don’t lie. If it’s been awhile and you’ve been out of the house for longer than a day, you’re running the risk that your batteries died and you simply don’t know about it. Change your batteries today and then start following these easy tips for fire safety in your home.

• One of the best ways to protect yourself and your family is to have a working smoke alarm that can sound fast for both a fire that has flames, and a smoky fire that has fumes without flames. It is called a “Dual Sensor Smoke Alarm.”
• Place a smoke alarm on the ceiling of every level of your home and outside bedrooms. Children and older people can sleep though the loud sound of a smoke alarm. Make sure your escape plan includes someone that can help children and others wake up immediately to escape from the home.
• If you keep your bedroom doors closed, place a smoke alarm on the ceiling of each bedroom.
• Check smoke alarms monthly by pressing the test button.
• Never take smoke alarm batteries out to put into other items like games or remote controls.
• Teach children what the smoke alarm sounds like and what to do when they hear the alarm sound.
• If there is a fire, leave the home right away by crawling low under the smoke and never go back inside.
• If smoke from cooking makes the alarm sound, press the “hush” button, if your alarm has one. You can also turn on the kitchen fan, open a window or wave a towel near the alarm until it stops making the sound. Never take the battery out of the alarm.
• Most alarms need a new battery at least once a year. Some smoke alarms have batteries that last for up to 10 years. If your smoke alarm is over 10 years old, replace it with a new alarm and a new battery.
• If you rent, talk to your landlord about placing a working smoke alarm in your home. You still need to buy a new battery at least once a year for the alarm.

(Source.)

An old co-worker of mine tried to argue that smoke detectors in each bedroom and outside the sleeping area of the home was “overkill.” I just kind of looked at him like he had two heads. In the middle of the night, in the dark of your home with the added stress of thick smoke, don’t you want to have the greatest chance of getting everyone awake and out of the house? Yes. Yes you do.

In short: Change your batteries. Now. Or when your smoke detector starts beeping in the middle of the night, you can think back to this post and say, “Gee, I should have listened to FireMom.”

How many smoke detectors do you have in your house? Do you have one on every floor? Do you have one in every bedroom? Do you know how many you should have? And, hey, while we’re at this inquisition, when was the last time you checked your smoke detector batteries?

This year the theme of Fire Prevention Week is: Smoke Alarms, A Sound You Can Live With. And it’s true. Each year in the US, nearly 3,000 people die in house fires.

• In 2003-2006, roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from home fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
  • No smoke alarms were present in 40% of the home fire deaths.
  • In 23% of the home fire deaths, smoke alarms were present but did not sound.
• In more than half of the reported home fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate even though the fire was large enough, batteries were missing or disconnected. Nuisance alarms were the leading reason for disconnected alarms.

The point? Having working smoke detectors cuts the risk of dying in a fire in half. The facts above are somewhat alarming, however. You should never remove a battery just because the smoke alarm is annoying you. Maybe it’s time for a new smoke alarm. According to the NFPA site & their quick stats, in a 2008 telephone survey, only 12% knew that smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years. How old are your smoke detectors in your house? If you don’t know the answer at all, you need to replace them. Yesterday.

For those that don’t test their smoke alarm batteries every month, I want to ask you: have you been out of the house for longer than 12 hours recently? Even if you’re using a good quality brand battery, it can die quickly. If you’ve been out of the house for an extended period of time, you may never have heard your warning beeps. Perhaps your smoke detector malfunctioned and it’s simply not working up there on the wall. How will you know unless you test it. Do it now. I’ll wait. (Just ask FourAgainstTwo about this very topic.)

Get your kids involved in the fire safety this week. Either have them watch you test the smoke detector batteries or have them help you. Explain why it’s important. Then download Sparky’s smoke alarm safety sheet and hang it on your fridge to serve as a visual reminder to check your batteries each month. Then download the escape grid and make an escape route for your house in the event of a fire. Sparky also has a great website where you can help your kids learn more about fire safety.

I share this information with you because it is important. Our department responded to a fire last week that turned out to be fatal. The cause was an electrical malfunction in the wall. You can do all of the right things — never leave candles burning, have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen, get your furnace checked out before turning it on — but you’re simply never exempt from a house fire. There are things you simply cannot control. As such, you need to be prepared to keep your family — your most treasured possession — as safe as possible. Smoke detectors are they key to doing so.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, I’ll be sharing some new kids’ firefighter themed book reviews. On Friday, I will be hosting a giveaway of those three books that will last through the month of October. I decided to extend the giveaway all month in hopes that people would really get the message that smoke detectors are important. So, tune in all week for some great fire books and general reminders to be fire safe.

If you want to watch videos, share them with your school (or blog readers) or just gain more information, visit the National Fire Protection Association website. Don’t forget to check out the Fire Prevention Week blog for pictures from fire departments around the country as well as Sparky sightings (which could be a fun fire-slash-geography lesson for the kids).

Change the batteries in your smoke detectors!

It is suggested that you change the batteries in your smoke detectors when Daylight Saving Time begins (and/or when it ends). You should also be testing your smoke detectors once a month by pressing that obnoxiously loud but life-saving little button. If you’re not, start doing so now. But change your batteries this weekend. It’s not that hard. I promise you.

The truth is that sixty-five percent of reported home fire deaths in 2000-2004 resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. (USFA) And of those, 43% were without a smoke detector all together. While those fancy pants ones are a bit expensive, the truth is that a regular, working smoke detectors can save lives. Furthermore, in places like Los Angeles, it is the law to have smoke detectors in all sleeping rooms. Did you know that? Do you know the laws of your city or state? If you don’t have one, please go out and purchase one today. If you’re struggling to make ends meet, give your local fire department a call and ask if they have a program to provide smoke detectors free of charge. If you’re unsure of where to install yours or how to change the batteries, give them a call as well.

I want all of our readers to be safe and having a working smoke detector is part of that! So change those batteries and try to catch up on some sleep!

Check your smoke detectors. Watch my video.

Is it really necessary to test your smoke detector every month? Yes. As an example, we went on vacation in August. We were gone for eight days. Our smoke detector batteries could have died while we were gone despite changing them with the time change every year. (More on that next month!) Even if you’re gone for half of a weekend, you could lose function. It’s best to test and know for sure than find out the hard way.

So go press the button on your smoke detectors right now. Use earplugs though. Man. That was loud.