Introduction
| Smoke detectors are a simple and efficient way to protect homeowners from
severe injury or even deaths which may
result from fires in the home. The
Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
estimates that a home fire occurs every 66 seconds in
the U.S. The
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
estimates that having operating smoke detectors in the home reduce
the possibility of dying from a fire by 50%. However, even though an
estimated 13 out of 14 homes (93%) have at least one smoke detector, an
estimated 1/3 of the smoke detectors are not properly maintained
or operating. |
 |
The value of smoke detectors is underestimated due to common
misconceptions about their usefulness and a person's ability to detect a fire
on their own. Here are some important facts about fires.
- The majority of fires occur at night when the occupants of a home are
sleeping.
- If a fire starts in the living room
of a home, occupants in a
bedroom could be dead in as little as two minutes.
- Most victims of fires die of smoke asphyxiation.
- Smoke will NOT wake up the
occupant. On the contrary, the gasses and smoke will numb the
senses and cause unconsciousness.
Smoke detectors are designed to give the occupants in the home the few
minutes they need to escape. For more information, click on the
links below:
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