The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Environmental Health and Safety remind the campus community to think about fire safety during Fire Prevention Week, October 3-9, 2004. This year’s theme, “It’s Fire Prevention Week: Test Your Smoke Alarms,” highlights the importance of all families installing and maintaining smoke alarms in the home.
Smoke alarms are the most effective early warning device available for the home. Since they were introduced to consumers in the 1970s, they have helped to reduce the home fire death rate by one half. Even though they are now widely popular, roughly 70 percent of home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
Fires can spread through a home rapidly, and in some cases, individuals may have as little as two minutes to escape to safety once the alarm sounds. Environmental Health & Safety encourages the campus community to keep their home smoke detectors working and to leave immediately when a smoke alarm sounds.
In addition, develop a home fire escape plan. You should identify escape routes in the home and choose an outside meeting place where everyone can gather after they’ve escaped. Practice ensures that everyone in the home knows the fire escape plan, they’re familiar with the sound of the smoke alarm, and they know how to exit quickly.
Here are some key smoke alarm installation and maintenance tips:
*Install at least one smoke alarm on every level of the home and outside each separate sleeping area.
*Mount smoke alarms on ceilings or high walls.
*Test smoke alarms once a month, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
*Replace batteries once a year or as soon as the device “chirps,” indicating that the battery is low.
*Replace all smoke alarms after 10 years, even those that are hard-wired or smoke alarms with “long-life” (10-year) batteries. Smoke *alarms with “long-life” (10-year) batteries also need to be replaced when the alarm “chirps” or fails to respond to periodic testing. The batteries in these units cannot be replaced.
*Alarms that are hard-wired to the home’s electrical system should be installed by a qualified electrician.
To learn more about Fire Prevention Week, visit NFPA at {http://www.firepreventionweek.org}. For more information about fire safety at Towson University see the Environmental Health & Safety website at: {http://www.new.towson.edu/adminfinance/facilities/ehs/FireSafety1.asp}
