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Safety Tips
CHANGE YOUR CLOCK
CHANGE YOUR BATTERY
A home fire impacts the life of an American family every 85 seconds, and an
average of nearly three children a day die in these fires. By providing an early
warning and critical extra seconds to escape, smoke alarms double your
family’s chance of getting out of a home fire alive – but only if they work.
So, when you turn your clocks back on October 27th, also make a lifesaving
change in your household – change the batteries in your smoke alarms. This
simple habit takes just a moment, but is the best defense your family has
against the devastating effects of a home fire.
Please forward this message to your friends and family so that they, too, can
make the simple change that could save their lives.
This reminder to “Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery™” comes from the
Polson Fire Department, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and
Energizer.
SMOKE ALARM FACTS
The Issue: Smoke Alarm Neglect
Although smoke alarms are present in 94 percent of American homes, 20
percent do not work, mostly because of dead or missing batteries. That means
roughly 19 million homes are at risk due to non-working smoke alarms and another
6 million homes are at risk due to no smoke alarms. This prevents the U.S. from
achieving the full potential of increased fire safety from smoke alarms.
In the U.S., roughly 80 percent of fire deaths result from fires in
homes without working smoke alarms. Half of the home fire deaths resulted from
fires in the small percentage of homes (six percent) without any smoke alarms.
If a fire occurs, working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home
fire nearly in half by providing an early warning and critical extra seconds to
escape.
Smoke alarm maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire
deaths.
The National Fire Alarm Code requires a minimum of one smoke alarm on
each level of a home, including one inside each bedroom for new construction and
one outside each sleeping area.
In addition to changing smoke alarm batteries, smoke alarms should be
replaced every ten years.
Education is key. Less than one quarter of U.S. homes had smoke alarms
in 1977. Although several factors such as safer products, building codes and
life safety education played important roles, increased smoke alarm usage played
a major role in the nearly 50 percent drop in home fire deaths since that time.
Home Fires
Somewhere in the nation, a home fire occurs approximately every 85
seconds.
The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. —
when most people are asleep.
Tragically, many people mistakenly believe they’d be awakened by the smell of
smoke in time to escape. Clinical experiments have found that the sense of smell
actually lessens when people are asleep. Therefore, when smoke enters a bedroom,
it does not always awaken the individual. In addition, smoke disorients people
and dulls their senses, making it less likely that other cues, such as cries for
help, will awaken them. This is why working home smoke alarms are so important.
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