National Fire Prevention Week will be held the week of October 5–11, 2014. This event, sponsored by the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA), promotes fire safety and prevention during this week and all year long. The 2014 theme, “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives – Test Yours Every Month!” focuses on the importance of having smoke alarms in your home and testing them every month.

Fire safety should be practiced all year long. Fires take a serious toll as shown in the following NFPA statistics:

Home Fires:

• In 2011, U.S. fire departments responded to 370,000 home structure fires. These fires caused 13,910 civilian injuries, 2,520 civilian deaths, and $6.9 billion in direct damage.
• Almost three of five of reported home fire deaths in 2007–2011 resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
• Smoking is the leading cause of civilian home fire deaths.
• Most fatal fires kill one or two people. In 2012, there were 8 home fires that killed 5 or more people, resulting in a total of 44 deaths.
• Cooking is the leading cause of home fires and injuries, with home heating equipment being second.
• Portable space heaters are involved in about 4 out of 5 heating fire deaths.
• On average, there are 32 home fires caused by a candle each day.

Smoke Alarms:

• In fires considered large enough to activate the smoke alarm, hardwired alarms operated 93 percent of the time, while battery powered alarms operated only 79 percent of the time.
• When smoke alarms fail to operate, it is usually because batteries are missing, disconnected, or dead.
• An ionization smoke alarm is generally more responsive to flaming fires and a photoelectric smoke alarm is generally more responsive to smoldering fires. For the best protection, or where extra time is needed to awaken or assist others, both types of alarms, or combination ionization and photoelectric alarms are recommended.
• In 2010, smoking materials started an estimated 17,500 home structure fires, resulting in 540 deaths, 1,320 injuries and $535 million in direct property damage. Smoking materials are the leading cause of home fire deaths.
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, to ensure an alarm is outside every separate sleeping area. If you or someone in your home is deaf or hard of hearing, consider installing an alarm that combines flashing lights, vibration and/or sound. Can’t remember if you’ve changed the batteries in your smoke detectors within the last 12 months? As a reminder, change batteries each year at Daylight Savings Time (Change your Battery / Change your Clock).

Escape Planning:

• According to an NFPA survey, only one-third of Americans have both developed and practiced a home fire escape plan. Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as 2 minutes to escape safely once the alarm sounds. Your ability to get out depends on advance warning from smoke alarms and advance planning — a home fire escape plan that everyone in your family is familiar with and has practiced.

For information on home fire safety go to the U.S. Fire Administration website, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) or National Safety Council Website.

Remember: Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives – Test Yours Every Month!