Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms are cost effective tools that will provide around the clock protection from the harmful effects of fire and smoke in your home, as well as peace of mind for you and your loved ones.

Residential fire deaths have decreased steadily as the number of homes with working smoke alarms has increased. Reports from the National Fire Protection Association show that people have nearly a 50 percent chance of surviving a fire if their home is equipped with properly installed, working smoke alarms. Here are some answers to commonly asked questions regarding installation and maintenance of smoke alarms.

Source: www.nfpa.org/education

The following tips will help ensure your home is as safe as possible from hazards that could be very dangerous.

• Never leave cooking food on the stovetop unattended and keep a close eye on food cooking inside the oven.
• Keep cooking areas clean and clear of materials that could catch fire, such as pot-holders, towels, rags, drapes and food packaging.
• Give space heaters plenty of space. Space heaters should be at least three feet (one meter) away from anything that could burn. Always make sure to turn heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Create a "kid-free zone" around the stove, keeping children and pets at least three feet away from the cooking area.
• Solid-fueled heating equipment, including chimneys, chimney connectors, fireplaces, and wood or coal stoves should be inspected by a professional every year and cleaned as often as necessary. This also applies to all other types of fueled heating equipment, including central furnaces and space heaters.
• Lit candles should be monitored constantly by an adult and extinguished when adults leave the room or go to sleep.
• Use candleholders that won't tip over easily, made of non-combustible materials, and are big enough to catch dripping wax safely.
• Never leave children alone with burning candles.
• If there are smokers in your home, make sure ashtrays are large and deep and won't tip over. Douse cigarette and cigar butts with water before discarding them.
• Keep matches and lighters up high and out of children's sight and reach – preferably in a locked cabinet.
• Replace or repair any electrical device with a loose, frayed, or broken cord. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for plugging an appliance into a receptacle outlet (most receptacle outlets contain two receptacles). As an added precaution, avoid plugging more than one high-wattage appliance into a single receptacle.
• In homes with small children, receptacle outlets should have plastic safety covers.
• To reduce the risk of electrical shock, install GFCIs (ground-fault circuit-interrupters). GFCIs shut off faulty electrical circuits and equipment more quickly than conventional fuses or circuit breakers. The devices are inexpensive and can be hard-wired into your home's electrical system by a professional electrician.
• Unwanted electrical arcing, often occurring in damaged wires or cords, can generate high temperatures and cause a fire. AFCIs (arc-fault circuit-interrupters) protect against fire by continuously monitoring the electrical current in a circuit and will shut off a circuit when an unwanted arcing fault is detected. (The National Electrical Code® requires AFCIs in bedrooms of new residential construction.)
• Liquids like gasoline, kerosene, and propane are highly flammable. Make sure to store these liquids outside the home in a properly ventilated shed or garage. Store them only in small quantities and in their original containers or in safety containers. Never bring even a small amount of gasoline indoors. The vapors are highly flammable and can be ignited by a tiny spark.
• In the hands of an adult who knows how to use it, a portable fire extinguisher can save lives and minimize property damage by putting out a small fire or containing it until the fire department arrives. But never forget that fire spreads rapidly. Your first priority should always be to get out of the house.

Source: www.nfpa.org/education

Plan Ahead. If a fire breaks out in your home, you may have only a few minutes to get out safely once the smoke alarm sounds. Everyone needs to know what to do and where to go if there is a fire.

Safety Tips

• Make a home escape plan. Draw a map of your home showing all doors and windows. Discuss the plan with everyone in your home.
• Know at least two ways out of every room if possible. Make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily.
• Have an outside meeting place (like a tree, light pole or mailbox) a safe distance from the home where everyone should meet.
• Practice your home fire drill at night and during the day with everyone in your home, twice a year.
• Practice using different ways out.
• Teach children how to escape on their own in case you can't help them.

Close doors behind you as you leave.

What to do if the fire alarm sounds

• If the smoke alarm sounds, get out and stay out. Never go back inside for people or pets.
• If you have to escape through smoke, get low and go under the smoke to your way out.
• Call the fire department from outside your home.

Important Facts

• According to a National Fire Protection Association survey, only one of every three American households have actually developed and practiced a home fire escape plan.
• While 71% of Americans have an escape plan in case of a fire, only 47% of those have practiced it.
• One-third of American households who made an estimate thought they would have at least six minutes before a fire in their home would become life-threatening. The time available is often less. And only 8% said their first thought on hearing a smoke alarm would be to get out.

Source: www.nfpa.org/education