Location matters when it comes to your family’s smoke alarms. This year’s Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 4-10) campaign, “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!” stresses the importance of placing working smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of a home, including the basement. Along with firefighters and safety advocates nationwide, the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) is joining forces with the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) during Fire Prevention Week to remind Tennesseans about the importance of working smoke alarms.
“In a fire, every second counts,” said State Fire Marshal and Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. “Half of home fire deaths result from fires reported at night between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most people are asleep. Home smoke alarms can alert people to a fire before it spreads, giving everyone enough time to get out.”
According to the latest NFPA research, working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire in half. Meanwhile, three out of five fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
To learn more about smoke alarms and “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!” visit NFPA’s Web site at www.firepreventionweek.org
