2-7-11

Be FireSmart

An interactive approach to fire safety from MADISON FIRE RESCUE

Test All Smoke Alarms (Detectors) and Annually Replace Batteries

You can prevent tragedies simply by testing and maintaining your smoke alarms and practicing a fire escape plan. All smoke alarms should be tested once a month, and their batteries replaced annually. Every family should develop a fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year.

Every year in the United States, about 3,000 people lose their lives in residential fires. Most fire victims die of inhalation of smoke and toxic gases, not as a result of burns. Most death and injuries occur in fires that happen at night while the victims are sleep.

Children may not awaken from the sound of a smoke alarm. Parents should hold a fire drill during the night so they can assess their children’s ability to awaken and respond appropriately.

Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms in the home are considered one of the best and least expensive means of providing an early warning of a potentially deadly fire. Smoke alarms save lives, prevent injuries, and minimize property damage by enabling residents to detect fires early in their development. The risk of dying from fires in homes without smoke alarms is twice as high as in homes that have working smoke alarms.

If possible interconnect all smoke alarms together so that if one goes off all will go off at the same time. Contact your electrician about interconnecting the smoke alarms.

If your battery-powered smoke alarm begins to emit a warning, usually a chirping sound, replace the battery immediately with a fresh one. This will ensure that your smoke alarm will continue to provide protection.

THIS FIRE PREVENTION PLAN WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS AT MADISON FIRE AND RESCUE