National Fire Prevention Month

October is National Fire Prevention Month!

The goal of Fire Prevention Month is to raise fire safety awareness, and help ensure your home and family is protected.

From beeps to chirps, this year’s campaign works to better educate the public about the sounds smoke alarms make, what those sounds mean, and how to respond to them.

“Smoke alarms have played a leading role in reducing fire death rates over the past 40 years, but we still have more work to do in maximizing their effectiveness,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy.

According to the latest NFPA “Smoke Alarms in the U.S.” report, working smoke alarms in the home reduce the risk of dying in a reported fire by more than half (55 percent). However, almost three out of five home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms (41 percent) or smoke alarms that failed to operate (16 percent).

Key messages for “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety” include:

• When a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide (CO) alarm sounds, respond immediately by exiting the home as quickly as possible.

• If your alarm begins to chirp, it may mean that the batteries are running low and need to be replaced. If the alarm continues to chirp after the batteries are replaced, or the alarm is more than 10 years old, it is time to replace the alarm.

• Test all smoke and CO alarms monthly. Press the test button to make sure the alarm is working.

• If there is someone in your household who is deaf or hard of hearing, install bed shaker and strobe light alarms that will alert that person to fire.

• Know the difference between the sound of a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm – three beeps for smoke alarms; four beeps for carbon monoxide alarms.

For more information about Fire Prevention Week and this year’s theme, “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety,” along with a wealth of resources to help promote the campaign locally, visit fpw.org.

Following these simple tips could potentially save your life or the life of a loved one. Pass this on to your friends and family and make this fire prevention month count!