According to the U.S. Fire Administration report, in 2006 there were:
3,425 deaths
16,400 injuries
$11.3 billion in property loss
These statistics represent residential figures. Tragic, that the 2006 deaths due to fire surpassed the combined deaths of all other natural disasters in the US at that time.
An installed and properly functioning smoke alarm can reduce residential fire death by over 50%. Sadly, two-thirds of the fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or smoke alarms that do not work. A recent University of Washington study revealed that 1 in 5 homes in the U.S. do not have a working smoke alarm, and that 73% of the alarm failures are due to dead or missing batteries.
So what to do?
- Install hard-wired smoke alarms with a battery back up in every level of the home, inside each sleeping room, and outside each sleeping area.
- Never disable smoke alarms, or remove batteries except to replace them
- Install combination ionization and photoelectric alarms.
- Replace all smoke alarms after 10 years of service
- Plan and practice escape routes, several times a year.
- For battery powered alarms, designate a time to replace batteries at least once a year – be it a holiday, or daylight savings time, just pick a date you can remember.
For more information on smoke alarms, visit these valuable resources on the web:
Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://www.cpsc.gov
U.S.Fire Administration: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov
National Fire Protection Association: http://www/nfpa.org