Location matters when it comes to your smoke alarm.
That's the message behind this year's Fire Prevention Week campaign, "Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!"
They should also be installed outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
And they should be interconnected, so that when one sounds, they all do.
"In a fire, seconds count," said PGFR's Chief Fire Prevention Officer Marcel Profeit. "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 National Fire Protection Association 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.
Here is some additional advice regarding smoke alarms:
Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.
Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they don't respond properly.
Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm and understands what to do when they hear it.
If the smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside. Go to your outside meeting place.
Call the fire department from outside the home.
More information can be found at the following NFPA websites: www.firepreventionweek.org and www.sparky.org/fpw and at the Office of the Fire Commissioner website: pgc.cc/1FTEHs4.
