Fire prevention week begins

  • Published
  • By Greg Chesser
  • 90th Civil Engineer fire prevention chief
F. E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo. --  In an effort to better educate communities throughout the United States about smoke alarm recommendations, the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association is promoting "Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!" as the theme for this year's Fire Prevention Week campaign Oct. 3 through 9, which Air Force Global Strike Command's F. E. Warren Air Force Base is supporting locally. The NFPA has been the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week for 88 years.

"We want residents to understand that working smoke alarms are needed in every home, on every level (including the basement), outside each sleeping area and inside each bedroom," said John McDougall, 90th Civil Engineer fire chief. "And, if a smoke alarm is 10 years old or older, it needs to be replaced," he added.

According to Chief McDougall, smoke alarms can mean the difference between life and death in a fire. NFPA statistics show that working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire nearly in half. But, they must be working properly to do so. The association's data shows many homes have smoke alarms that aren't working or maintained properly, usually because of missing, disconnected or dead batteries. Roughly two-thirds of all home-fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

Warren's Fire & Emergency Services will be hosting activities during Fire Prevention Week to promote "Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!" The annual fire department open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 2. The open-to-all event will have a lunch provided, games for children and more than $1,500 worth of door prizes will be given away.

Warren's Fire & Emergency Services offers the following tips for making sure smoke alarms are maintained and working properly:

*Test smoke alarms at least once a month using the test button, and make sure everyone in your home knows their sound.

*If an alarm "chirps," warning the battery is low, replace the battery right away.

*Replace all smoke alarms, including alarms that use 10-year batteries and hard-wired alarms, when they're 10 years old (or sooner) if they do not respond properly when tested.

*Never remove or disable a smoke alarm.