Smoke Alarm Safety

Smoke alarms save lives. Smoke alarms that are properly installed and maintained play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries. If there is a fire in your home, smoke spreads fast and you need smoke alarms to give you time to get out.

Smoke Alarm Facts and Stats

• From 2009-2013, smoke alarms sounded in more than half (53%) of the home fires reported to U.S. fire departments
• Three of every five home fire deaths (59%) resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms
• The death rate per 100 reported home fires was more than twice as high in homes that did not have any working smoke alarms compared to the rate in homes with working smoke alarms (1.18 deaths vs. 0.53 deaths per 100 fires)
• In fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate, almost half (46%) of the smoke alarms had missing or disconnected batteries
• Dead batteries caused one-quarter (24%) of the smoke alarm failures

Don’t Go Without Working Smoke Alarms

• Your local fire department will test your smoke detector and if necessary will replace them FREE of charge
• If you don’t have any smoke alarms, your local fire department will provide them to you FREE of charge
• Don’t be a statistic! Give us a call at 919-963-2039 and we’ll be more than happy to make sure you have working smoke alarms in your house

Tips for Fire Safety

• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas
• Test smoke alarms every month. If they’re not working, change the batteries
• Close bedroom doors at night as they may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire
• Talk with all family members about a fire escape plan and practice the plan twice a year
• Install and maintain fire extinguishers
• Hide matches and lighters out of children’s sight and reach
• Clean the lint screen on the clothes dryer before each use
• Do not overload outlets.  Use power strips that have built-in surge protectors.
• If a fire occurs in your home, GET OUT, STAY OUT and CALL FOR HELP. Never go back inside for anything or anyone

Make sure we can find you!

• First Responders can’t help you if they can’t find you.
• Ensure your street address is clearly visible from the road
• If you need assistance during the night, turn on your porch light
• We can assist you with obtaining and installing an address sign for your residence.  Call 919-963-2039 for more information

Be warm and safe during the winter!

• Keep anything that can burn at least three-feet (one meter) away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater.
• Have a three-foot (one meter) “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• Never use your oven to heat your home.
• Have a qualified professional install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment according to the local codes and manufacturer’s instructions.
• Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
• Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Always use the right kind of fuel, specified by the manufacturer, for fuel burning space heaters.
• Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room. Ashes should be cool before putting them in a metal container. Keep the container a safe distance away from your home.

Cook with Caution

• Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol don’t use the stove or stove-top.
• Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
• If you are simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
• Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains — away from your stove-top.

If you have a small (grease) cooking fire and decide to fight the fire…

• On the stove-top, smother the flames by sliding a lid over the pan and turning off the burner. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
• For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door closed.

If you have any doubt about fighting a small fire…

• Just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
• Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number from outside the home.