Fire Statistics
The Issue: Smoke Alarm Neglect
¤
Although smoke
alarms are present in 96 percent of American homes, 23 percent do not work,
mostly because of dead or missing batteries. This means roughly 25.6 million
homes are at risk due to non-working smoke alarms and another six million homes
are at risk due to no smoke alarms. This prevents the U.S. from achieving
the full potential of increased fire safety from smoke alarms.
¤
In the U.S., roughly 80 percent of fire deaths result from fires in homes
working smoke alarms. Half of the home fire deaths resulted from fires in the
small percentage of homes (five percent) without any smoke alarms.
¤ If a fire occurs,
working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire nearly
in half by providing an early warning and critical extra seconds to escape.
¤ Eighty-three
percent of all civilian fire-related deaths are a result of home fires.
¤ Smoke alarm
maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths.
¤ The National Fire
Alarm Code recommends a minimum of one smoke alarm on each level of a home,
including one inside each bedroom for new construction and one outside each
sleeping area.
¤ In addition to
changing smoke alarm batteries, smoke alarms should be replaced every ten years.
¤ Education is key.
Less than one quarter of U.S. homes had smoke alarms in 1977. Although several
factors such as safer products, building codes and life safety education played
important roles, increased smoke alarm usage played a major role in the nearly
50 percent drop in home fire deaths since that time.
Source: www.energizer.com/firesafety
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