With the first day of Spring just around the corner (March 20th), it’s the perfect time of year to focus on fire safety in
your home! We “Spring” our clocks ahead an hour, and to help remind you about maintaining your household smoke alarms, why don’t you Spring Ahead Into Safety as well!

Did you know that the number one reason for smoke alarms not functioning in homes is due to missing or dead battery/power sources? An analysis was done of people who perished in homes where smoke alarms were present but not working, and 85% of those people who died did not have a functioning smoke alarm because of missing or dead batteries! What a simple and easy problem to fix!

Smoke alarms save lives, it’s even the law to have a functioning detector in your home! But who wouldn’t want to protect
themselves and their families, especially while you sleep, as most fatal fires are at night when people don’t wake up. You only need to change the battery once a year, twice if you want to be extra cautious, and a great way to remember this is to do it when you change your clocks in the Spring and Fall.  Here are some other smoke alarm safety tips for your home:

 1) Test your detectors once a month by using both the test button on the alarm, as well as a smoldering piece of cotton string. Be sure to also follow the owner’s manual when doing this.

2) Make sure an alarm is installed on every level of your home and near sleeping areas. One alarm isn’t enough! They should be installed on the ceiling, and if this isn’t possible then place them high up on the wall. Also make sure they are away from
bathrooms, heating appliances and ceiling fans.

3) If you sleep with your bedroom door closed, which is recommended for fire safety, then you should install a smoke detector IN your bedroom.

4) Dust or vacuum out the detectors regularly, a good time is when you are testing them each month.   Don’t use chemicals to clean as this can damage the smoke alarm. Also never paint them.

5) Replace old smoke alarms AT LEAST once every ten years.

6) When you are purchasing a new alarm, why not go for the best?! Some detectors are electrically powered and some use batteries, however the best use a combination of these power sources and also have a pause button for when it accidentally
goes off. This is handy for when you are burning dinner!

7) Have an escape plan. Make sure everyone in your home knows what the smoke alarm sounds like and practice your escape plan together. It should include two separate ways out of each different room and a pre-arranged meeting place outside where you can call the fire department from.

8) You should also have at least one carbon monoxide detector installed on each level of your home.

 

 So can you remember to Spring Ahead Into Safety next week? Don’t forget to check that the smoke alarm battery is in
place, connected, not corroding and functioning properly. These simple tips will help protect your home and more importantly you and your family!

Happy Spring!!

 

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