Smoke Alarms Overview

In the event of a fire, a smoke alarm can save your life and the lives of your loved ones. The smoke alarm is an early warning device used to signal residents in case of smoke or fire. They are the single most important means of preventing house and apartment fire fatalities.

 

Having a smoke alarm cuts your chance of dying nearly in half in a home fire.

Tragically, the importance of installing and maintaining smoke alarms has not yet been fully realized. Although 13 of every 14 homes have at least one smoke detector, almost half of home fires and three-fifths of fire deaths occur in homes with no detectors.

 

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 homes had installed smoke alarms. By 1985, 38 states had laws requiring that smoke alarms be placed in all new and existing residences

 

If smoke is detected, the smoke alarm emits loud, high-pitched beeps, alerting residents and allowing them to evacuate before the home is consumed by fire. Most people who die in home fires are not in the room where the first starts. Most house fires start when the residents are asleep so a loud obnoxious smoke alarm is your best chance for survival.

 

Think of the needless deaths that have occurred simply because there were no smoke detectors or alarms of any kind in a particular home or business. There is really no excuse when you consider the fact that the cost of owner-installed alarms in the home is as little as $10.00 per alarm, or less than $50.00 for the entire house.