Why you need a working home safety/fire alarm system
Facts about residential fires
- Nearly 4000 Americans die each year in house fires and over 2000 are severely injured
- In only 3 1/2 minutes, the heat from a house fire can reach over 1100 degrees Fahrenheit.
- About 80% of all civilian deaths from fire occur in the home
- In rooms that are not even on fire, the temperature can reach over 300 degrees; this is hot enough to melt plastic and kill the people in those rooms
- Adults 65 and older are more than twice as likely to die in fires as the overall population
- The leading cause of fire deaths is careless smoking
- Having a working smoke detector more than doubles one’s chances of surviving a fire
- In 2005, 106 firefighters died in the line of duty in the United States
Factors Contributing to Fatalities from Fire
- Fire produces gases and fumes that can make you sleepy, weak, and confused. You can’t smell these fumes, so if you are asleep the smell won’t wake you-but a smoke alarm will.
- Unlike fires in the movies, the smoke from a house fire can be so thick that your house would be completely dark in 4 minutes, even with all the lights on!
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Alarm
Silence isn’t always golden, especially when it comes to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. CO is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death. When power outages occur after severe weather, such as winter storms or tornadoes, using alternative sources of power can cause CO to build-up in a home and poison the people and animals inside. The common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. High levels of CO inhalation can cause loss of consciousness and death.
There are steps you can take to help protect yourself and your household from CO poisoning. Change or check the batteries in your CO detector every six months. If you don’t have a CO detector, get one soon.