I know I am not alone when I say that my smoke alarm beeps every time I try to cook. It is loud and annoying and I need to open all the kitchen windows to make it stop. But isn’t that the point? Don’t we want the smoke alarm to beep when there is smoke? At least I know the one outside my kitchen works! But, what about the others? I have a smoke alarm on each level of my home, do you? I even have one attached to my security alarm that will contact the fire department directly.
The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) suggests that smoke alarms be tested every month, but the batteries should be changed once a year. How am I going to remember to do this? Pick a holiday or your birthday, and use that as the date to replace your smoke alarm batteries every year, or do it when you change your clocks in the fall or spring. Even if your smoke alarm is hard wired to the electricity in your home it needs to be checked. These smoke alarms often have a battery backup in them and those too need to be changed annually. I just learned from reading the USFA website that the life span of a smoke alarm is 8-10 years. Do you know how long you have had your smoke alarm?
Keeping your smoke alarm in working order is an important step in keeping your family safe in case of a fire, but it is not enough. Your family needs to create and practice an emergency escape plan. Teach children what to do in case of a fire, when to leave the house, and where to meet. Don’t forget to keep matches and lighters out of reach of children and never leave burning candles unattended http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/home_fire_prev/alarms
Also concerning is that studies show that 78% of school-aged children sleep through smoke alarms. In the study, “Parents reported that of the 22% of children who awoke, only half identified the noise as a smoke alarm. And only half of those children knew that smoke alarms mean Get Out Now.” How are you going to address this in your family? Read the rest of the article at http://healthland.time.com/2011/03/25/children-sleep-through-fire-alarms-study-shows/
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