October 7, 2015
“Hear the Beep Where You Sleep”
Fire campaign encourages smoke alarms in all sleeping areas
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!”
Scottsdale Fire Department joins forces with the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) during Fire Prevention Week, October 4-10, to remind local residents about the importance of having working smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement.
“In a fire, seconds count,” says Mark DeBruyckere, Operations Division Chief. “Half of home fire deaths result from fires reported at night between 11 pm and 7 am when most people are asleep. Home smoke alarms can alert people to a fire before it spreads, giving everyone enough time to get out.”
An additional challenge is that many people are not sleeping in traditional bedrooms. Some are sleeping in living rooms and converted garages. “It is important that smoke alarms are placed where people are actually sleeping,” says DeBruyckere. “That may mean more than just the bedrooms.”
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.
This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign includes the following smoke alarm messages:
Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
Check smoke alarms monthly and replace batteries twice a year.
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.
Scottsdale Fire Department offers free smoke alarms and CO alarms to low-income families living in homes without interconnected alarms. For more information about this program, visit www.ScottsdaleAZ.gov and search “Smoke Alarms.”
