Today we are discussing an important topic for all homeowners-smoke detectors. We will give you several examples of how important they are in saving lives and discuss their relevance for all homeowners and apartment dwellers.
In my other article on this topic ‘What You Need To Know About Smoke Detectors’ I cited the National Fire Protection Association 2012 fire stats that showed “there were 1,375,000 fires reported in the United States resulting in 2855 deaths, 16,500 injuries and $12.4 billion in property damage. Of that number the vast majority of civilian injuries (14,700) and property damage ($9.8 billion) were from 480,500 structure fires.”
It has been estimated that close to 5 million households do not have a smoke detector.
In our research we discovered that many homeowners, including some of our neighbors, have smoke detectors disabled intentionally because they consider them a nuisance. Many other homeowners have smoke alarms that don’t work. What a tragedy!
The death rate per 100 reported home fires was twice as high in homes that didn’t have working smoke detectors as in homes that did. If that doesn’t get your attention, nothing will.
And how about this: three out of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes without working smoke alarms.
Our first example of how effective smoke detectors can be comes from the tiny Texas town of Rockdale. In the early morning hours of March 13 a family was saved by smoke detectors but their duplex home sustained serious fire and smoke damage. The smoke alarm woke one of the parents who then proceeded to get the children out of the house saving their lives. Rockdale County Fire and Rescue said “smoke alarms are the first line of defense from fire” and encouraged all residents and businesses to install and maintain smoke alarms. Good advice!
In another example in Albany, New York the local CBS station reported a Rotterdam man’s life was saved by a smoke detector after his home went up in flames around 1 a.m. The man living in the home heard the smoke detectors go off and was able to get out quickly and safely. The fire is still under investigation.
About 3,000 people are killed each year in residential fires. And in the winter months, the risk of house fires goes up with the use of fireplaces and space heaters according to this Consumer Reports article. The article goes on to say “there are basically two types of fires: smoky, smoldering fires that are best detected by alarms with photoelectric sensors and fast fires with flames that are best detected by alarms with ionization sensors.”
And finally this local Indiana ABC affiliate story reminds homeowners with smoke detectors that they should Change The Batteries Annually usually on the date they change their clocks for daylight savings.
Our four in one alarm shown here uses IoPhic® Sensing Technology so it can respond 87% faster to slow smoldering fires than Photoelectric-only alarms and assures a quick response to fast-flaming fires-the two types of fires. The microprocessor virtually eliminates nuisance alarms. This alarm also sounds an 85 decibel siren when carbon monoxide or natural gas is detected. It has two tamper resistant locking features to prevent unauthorized alarm and battery removal.
How many smoke detectors do you have in your house? Have you ever disabled one?