Fire Chief Safety Tip of the Month from Chief Erik Vierheilig
This month we feature smoke detector safety tips. With daylight savings time coming tomorrow, the USRFD urges residents to change their smoke detector batteries in their home, as well as change the backup battery in their carbon monoxide detector.
There are times when our crew is doing an investigation at a home that we find smoke detectors that are missing. We’ve all experienced it… Low battery chirp at 2am. Smoke from a culinary disaster setting off the detector near the kitchen. Smoke from the fireplace when you forget to open the flue. Its important to not remove or disconnect the detector when it activates.
Smoke alarms save lives. If there is a fire in your home, smoke spreads fast and you need smoke alarms to give you time to get out. Having a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a reported fire in half. Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
Did you know?
In 2007-2011, smoke alarms sounded in half of the home fires reported to U.S. fire departments. Three of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms and no smoke alarms were present in more than one-third (37%) of the home fire deaths.
So this weekend, be sure to go to the store, grab a couple 9 volts, and take 10 minutes to change those batteries. Test your smoke alarms every month and remember that when a smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside. Lastly, be sure to replace all smoke alarms in your home every 10 years.
Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at 1230@usrfd.org or my office at 201.327.0285 . Thank you and be safe.
