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.
Back in the mid 1990s my family and I moved to a new house. The house we moved into was a four-level split. When we first looked at the house, I was surprised to find only one smoke alarm installed. On moving day, I came armed with seven new smoke alarms. One smoke alarm for each level of the home, and one for each bedroom! It is estimated that 75% of homes in Canada and the United States have smoke alarms. The chances of surviving a fire is increased if correctly installed and maintained working smoke alarms are present. However, the majority of fatal home fires still occur in homes without working smoke alarms. There have been many fatal home fires where smoke alarms were present, but not operational, typically because of dead or missing batteries. Also, studies done indicate the homes that do have operational smoke alarms, do not have enough. In fact, 70% to 80% of homes only have one smoke alarm. The majority of people think fire will never strike them. Also, people believe they will smell the smoke and wake up if they are sleeping. FACT: Most people die of smoke inhalation or exposure to heated air in a nighttime fire. They do not have a chance to escape because they become unconscious before they wake up. Again, one of the most effective ways to prevent these deaths is to correctly locate and install working smoke alarms. Installing smoke alarms on each level of the home and cottage, outside and near sleeping areas, and inside bedrooms are CRITICAL for early detection of fire. Maintaining the smoke alarms according to the manufactures instructions is also vital. Working Smoke Alarms? Don't stay home without them! Safety ? it starts with you!
