Smoke Alarms: A Critical Tool

Smoke alarms that are properly installed and maintained play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries.

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.

Here's what you need to know!

• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of your home.
• Test your smoke alarms every month.
• When a smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside.
• Replace all smoke alarms in your home every 10 years

Learn more about staying safe with smoke alarms.

Smoke Alarms by the numbers:

• Smoke alarms were present in three-quarters (74%) of reported home fires in 2012-2016.
• Almost three out of five home fire deaths in 2012-2016 were caused by fires in properties with no smoke alarms (40%) or smoke alarms that failed to operate (17%).
• Battery-powered alarms operated 81% of the time.

Sources:

www.nfpa.org