Protect Yourself Against a House Fire by Installing a Smoke Alarm
According to the National Fire Protection Association, more house fires are started by overturned candles in December than in any other month of the year. Add to this the number of fires caused by malfunctioning Christmas tree lights, and you can see why the festive season is a particularly busy one for the fire protection services.
In 2002 around 130 people in the U.S. died in house fires started by candle flames. Research carried out by the National Fire Protection Association shows that an additional 1,350 people were injured, while property losses amounted to 333 million dollars. If you want to avoid being part of these statistics, stop to think about the precautions you could take to protect your home against fire, and how to raise the alarm if a fire should start.
Fire Protection Precautions - Why a Smoke Alarm is Essential
The key to home safety is preventing a fire in the first place, rather than relying on some sort of fire alarm system to alert you after the blaze has started. That said, the National Fire Protection Association strongly advises householders to install at least one, and preferably several smoke alarms.
The Smoke Alarm as Part of Your Home Fire Protection System
- Put a smoke alarm inside every bedroom or outside each bedroom door.
- Make sure that every level of your house has an alarm.
- If your alarms are connected to the electricity supply, have them linked up so that when one is triggered all the others go off at the same time.
- Check your smoke alarms regularly to make sure that they are working properly.
- Practice an evacuation drill with the rest of the family so that they know what to do and where to go if the alarm sounds.
Deaths due to home fires have been halved since the introduction of the inexpensive, battery-operated, easy-to-install smoke alarm thirty years ago. Every homeowner who is concerned about fire protection should begin by installing a smoke alarm or checking that existing alarms are in good working order.
