Use Fire Prevention Week to Plan With Your Family

It’s Fire Prevention Week and officials hope you’ll take it seriously.  More than 26 hundred people died in residential fires across the country last year, an increase of nearly 3% from 2009.  

State Fire Commissioner Ed Mann says families should sit down together and talk about what they should do in case of fire, develop a plan and practice it. He says research shows young children may not react to smoke detectors, so that’s why it’s important to test them after they’ve gone to sleep. He says there should be a working smoke detector on each floor of the house and in every bedroom.

Mann says it’s also a good time of year to have your home heating system checked and services.  He says you should also walk through your home and look for fire hazards and check your smoke detectors.

Mann says smoke detectors have a life expectancy; they start losing their sensitivity after 10 years.  He says older smoke detectors should be replaced.  Newer smoke detectors have a sealed battery compartment and will stop working when they reach that 10 year life expectancy.

Mann also hopes people will put carbon monoxide detectors in their homes.