Published in the ECHO Journal, March 2010
Install. Inspect. Protect.
Campaign
A working smoke alarm is the best way of alerting residents to a fire. Smoke alarms save lives, families and firefighters. While the message is simple, statistics show that Americans need to pay more attention to not only installing, but also maintaining, the smoke alarms in their homes. A smoke alarm with a dead or missing battery is the same as no smoke alarm at all. Every year, more than 3,000 people die in home fires in the United States; most of these are in homes without a working smoke alarm. To prevent these deaths, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is sponsoring a nationwide Install. Inspect. Protect. Campaign designed to raise awareness about how working, properly installed smoke alarms can lower a person’s chances of dying in a fire.
The Campaign
The Install. Inspect. Protect. Campaign is aimed at encouraging Americans to practice fire safety by:
- Installing and maintaining smoke alarms and residential fire sprinklers, which can help save the lives of residents and fire fighters,
- Practicing fire escape plans, and
- Performing a home safety walk-through to remove fire hazards from the home. Install. Inspect.
Protect. also recognizes firefighters and the fact that the children of firefighters want their fathers and mothers to come home safely. The campaign is promoting fire safety through a free Campaign Toolkit disc, educational materials, print, radio and television public service announcements, children’s materials, community organization-sponsored events and a consumer-friendly campaign Web site.
When both smoke alarms and fire sprinklers are present in a home, the risk of dying in a fire is reduced by 82 percent, when compared to a residence without either. According to the National Fire Protection Association, between 2003-2006, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
The USFA offers a few helpful tips on smoke alarms and sprinklers:
- Place properly installed and maintained smoke alarms both inside and outside of sleeping areas and on every level of your home.
- Get smoke alarms that can sound fast. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends that every residence and place where people sleep be equipped with both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or with dual sensor smoke alarms, which contain both ionization and photoelectric smoke sensors.
- Test smoke alarms monthly and change alkaline batteries at least once every year, or as instructed. You can use a date you already know, like your birthday or when you change your clocks as a reminder.
- If possible, install residential fire sprinklers in your home.
- Avoid painting or covering a fire sprinkler, because that will affect its sensitivity to heat.
Organizations in partnership with the U.S. Fire Administration’s Install. Inspect. Protect.Campaign include the American Fire Sprinkler Association, The Burn Institute, Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association, Fire Department Safety Officers Association, Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition, Home Safety Council, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Women in Fire & Emergency Services, National Association of State Fire Marshals, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, National Fire Protection Association, National Fire Sprinkler Association, National Volunteer Fire Council, and Safe Kids Worldwide.
For more information on the Install. Inspect. Protect. Campaign and other fire prevention information, please visit www.usfa.dhs.gov/smokealarms. Remember to Install. Inspect. Protect…Smoke Alarms Save Lives.