The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Fire Prevention Week 2004 focuses on smoke detectors, one of the most critical components of your fire safety plan for your home. Smoke detectors save lives, as the majority of home fires happen at night, and the smell of smoke won't always wake you up. In fact, smoke and poisonous gases can put you into a deeper sleep. Home smoke detectors can wake you in time to escape - cutting your chances of dying nearly in half. Eight out of every ten deaths take place in the home and almost half of those deaths result from fires that occurred between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. when most people are sleeping. Smoke detectors are inexpensive and they do save lives. The members of the Flin Flon Fire Department ask that you install smoke detectors in your home if you do not already have them. Smoke detectors run on batteries or can be directly wired into your home. If you do have battery operated smoke detectors already installed in your home, check your batteries. The key to survival is early warning and quick action; install smoke detectors on every floor of your home, including the basement and outside each sleeping area. Smoke rises, so alarms are required to be mounted on the ceiling. Position smoke detectors at least four inches away from the nearest wall. As with everything in life smoke detectors do not last forever so you should replace your smoke detectors every ten years. Unfortunately very few people realize how quickly and deadly a home fire can be as you may only have minutes to survive every second counts.
