It is quite horrifying to think that in the USA there is one needless death every three hours.
Do you have a smoke alarm installed in your home?
Many people died in apartments as well as homes, so do not think of a smoke alarm as simply protecting the equity that you have in your property; a smoke alarm can be and is a life-saver.
According to numbers from the National Fire Prevention Association, some groups are at higher risk than others. These are children under five years old and also the elderly. Figures show these two age groups have double the national risk of dying in a fire.
Of course, smoking is the overall highest risk factor for home fires, but in the winter months, faulty heating equipment causes almost the same number of deaths. This means that home safety such as old wiring systems, drying clothes over an unprotected heater, unsafe gas fires, un-serviced clothes dryers, chimneys and wood fires could all represent danger.
Many of us do have smoke alarms already in our homes; but as soon as they go off when the bacon is over-heating we disconnect them! Yes, it is a nuisance that some of them seem to be over sensitive, but instead of disconnecting them, it is wiser to keep a ventilation fan running while you are frying on a high heat.
A once a month check on battery strength is also advised as well as keeping a smoke alarm on the same floor as the one where the family is sleeping. In the year of 2006, over 2,600 people died in American fires. The USA has the highest annual death rate from fires than any civilized country.
Some countries have actually legislated fire protection; Australia has a mandatory smoke alarm law for all new homes, and several areas require a smoke alarm in all homes; as does the Canadian province of Ontario.
There are two types of smoke alarms - photoelectric and ionization. For those who do not yet have a smoke alarm installed, you should be aware that a photoelectric smoke alarm is the best type for detecting the type of smoldering smoke fire. This type of alarm will respond to smoldering smoke within three to five minutes. Since the majority of fires happen when people are sleeping at night, this would imply that they start slowly, i.e. smoldering, and unnoticed at first.
Toxic smoke causes the majority of deaths in house fires, as opposed to flames which does the most damage to the home. That is why, in the bedroom area of the house, this is the advisable type of smoke alarm.
The ionization alarms detect the type of fire that may break out in a kitchen and where flames ignite quickly. When it comes to smoldering smoke they can take as long as twenty minutes to sound.
Here is a list of pointers to look for when buying a new smoke alarm:
A button to turn the alarm off if temporary alarms sound when you burn the toast!
An escape light that goes on automatically is available in some alarms; in a power cut it will light your way out.
Many come with a test button that works by shining a flashlight on it to test its readiness.
The safest type of alarm is one that is mains connected with a battery backup.
Some are operated by a ten year lithium battery.
Buy wisely and sleep well!
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