This week is Fire Prevention Week, and this year the focus is on smoke alarms. The truth about home fires is alarming, and smoke detectors are not something to forget about.
A lot of us take our smoke alarms for granted, but every week across Canada, eight people die in house fires. About half of these deaths could have been avoided if these homes had had working smoke alarms. There’s no excuse for this. — Mike Holmes, National Post
On every level of your home, you must have a working smoke alarm, as well as in outside sleeping areas. The biggest rule about smoke detectors: you never turn them off. Something to note: smoke alarms can last anywhere from five to ten years.
- Change your smoke detector and CO detector batteries approximately twice a year
- Test your alarms every month, there is a simple ‘test’ button on the units and this quick task can be life-saving
- Always have an escape plan in place in case there is a fire at your home
