Smoke Alarms Save Lives!

Yes it’s true that we are the largest online supplier of self-defense products, hidden cameras and tools to improve your home security. But our main job, and something that we are very passionate about, is providing our customers, including our readers, is information and tools that can save their lives. There is no better example of that than with smoke detectors.

In our story that we did recently about Smoke Detectors we said:

“It’s nice to have a smoke alarm; but if it isn’t working, it doesn’t do you much good.

Many people disable them intentionally because they consider them to be a nuisance.

The death rate per 100 reported home fires was more than twice as high in homes that didn’t have a working smoke alarm-either because there was no alarm at all or the alarm that was there was inoperable-than in homes with a working smoke alarm.”

Smoke detectors have a proven track record of doing just that-saving lives! In today’s story we will give you some examples that prove that statement and in the process we discovered several facts that we were unaware of.

• The first of them was that three out of every five home fire deaths were the direct result of homes without working smoke alarms.
• Second, the risk of dying in a reported home fire is cut in half when you have a smoke detector.
• One home structure fire is reported every 85 seconds.
• One civilian fire death occurs every three hours and four minutes.

In our first story a lightning strike is believed to have caused the fire in a Canton, Michigan home, but their smoke detector was credited with saving their lives when their home became engulfed in flames. When firefighters arrived at the scene they found the roofs of the home and garage fully engaged in flames. They battled the fire for several hours. The homeowner told the deputy Fire Chief that they never would’ve made it out had they not heard the smoke detector.

In our next story, having smoke alarms in every bedroom and one on every floor of your home is the best way to ensure that you will hear them. Most fires it seems happened between 10 PM and 6 AM. It is duly noted that the alarms must be working properly and have fresh batteries installed annually when you change your clock.

In another story that didn’t end so well working smoke alarms are the key. There was a house fire recently in Southfield they killed a 10-year-old boy. The fire as usual started in the middle of the night and by the time firefighters responded to the call, they found a 10-year-old boy who was unresponsive. Apparently the fire originated in the young boy’s bedroom. Only one smoke alarm was found in the whole house and that did not have a battery in it.

The story notes that if you cannot afford fire alarms, some agencies will provide them and even install them.

And finally this story from Greensboro where a Lexington woman credits a smoke detector with saving her life after a fire broke out in her mobile home. The woman was woken at 3 AM by a smoke detector. She had been asleep on the couch when the fire started in her bedroom. Apparently no one was injured.

How many alarms do you have in your house? Have you ever been a victim of a fire? Share your experiences with us so that others may learn.