- Fifteen of every 16 homes (94%) in the United States have at least one smoke alarm.
- Having smoke alarms in your home reduces your chance of dying in a fire nearly in half.
- One-half of home fire deaths occur in the 6 % of homes with no smoke alarms.
- In three of every 10 reported fires in homes equipped with smoke alarms, the devices did not work, most often because of missing, dead or disconnected batteries.
- Only eight percent of those surveyed whose smoke alarms had sounded in the past year thought it was a fire that caused the alarm to go off, and got out of their homes as a result
In the 1960's, the average U. S. citizen had never heard of a smoke alarm. By 1995, an estimated 93 percent of all American single, multi-family, apartments, nursing homes, dormitories, etc were equipped with alarms. By the mid 1980's, smoke alarm laws, requiring that alarms be placed in all new and existing residences, existed in 38 states and thousands of municipalities nationwide. And smoke alarm provisions have been adopted by all of the model building code organizations.
Fire services across the country have played a major and influential public education role in alerting the public to the benefits of smoke alarms. Another key factor in this huge and rapid penetration of both the marketplace and the builder community has been the development and marketing of low cost alarms by commercial companies. In the early 1970,s, the cost of protecting a three bedroom home with professionally installed alarms was approximately ; today the cost of owner-installed alarms in the same house has come down to as little as $10 per alarm, or less than $50 for the entire home.
This cost structure, combined with effective public education (including key private/public partnerships), has caused a huge percentage of America's consumers, whether they are renting or buying, to demand smoke alarm protection. The impact of smoke alarms on fire safety and protection is dramatic and can be simply stated. When fire breaks out, the smoke alarm, functioning as an early warning system, reduces the risk of dying by nearly 50 percent. Alarms are most people's first line of defense against fire.
In the event of a fire, properly installed and maintained smoke alarms will provide an early warning signal to your household. This alarm could save your own life and those of your loved ones by providing the chance to escape. Why should my home have smoke alarms? read more....
|