Alarming statistics about house fires
No. 1 rule: Never disable a smoke alarm
Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 5 to 11. This year, the big focus is on smoke alarms.
Just last week I heard about an elderly couple who made it out of their burning house thanks to their smoke alarms. Unfortunately, I’ve heard bad stories, too. In one case, a family disabled the smoke alarms in their home because they kept going off and weren’t letting the kids sleep. A week later a house fire broke out and three people died — one of them a three-year-old boy.
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.
Whether you’re a homeowner or a landlord, you must have a working smoke alarm on every level of the home, as well as in outside sleeping areas. Some experts will even tell you that you should have smoke alarms in bedrooms, too — in case a fire breaks out inside the bedroom. There are also special smoke alarms for people who have trouble hearing. Instead of using sound, a strobe light goes off.
No. 1 rule about smoke alarms: Never disable them.
If they’re going off when there’s no smoke, get them checked. Some alarms start beeping to tell you the batteries need to be changed. Also, the units expire. Typically they last seven to 10 years and then must be changed. Some smoke alarms are only good for five years.
If it’s beeping for no reason, there’s a problem and you need to do something about it, and that doesn’t include taking the batteries out.
Change the clocks — and smoke alarm batteries — this Sunday
Change the batteries at least twice a year, for both smoke alarms and CO detectors. I do it when we change the clocks in spring and fall — that’s this Sunday night — so it’s an easy job to remember.
The second rule is to test your alarms every month, no exception, and the same goes for CO detectors. That might seem like overkill, but really, there’s no such thing. Just look at the consequences.
Testing is easy. Every smoke alarm has a test button. If yours don’t, it means they’re out of date and you must get them replaced. To test the unit, hold down the test button. You should hear a loud beep. If you don’t, or if it sounds weak, change the batteries. If you change them and it still doesn’t work, contact an electrical contractor: There might be a problem with the hard wiring.
You should also test with real smoke. You want to make sure the unit can actually detect smoke.
Light a match and blow it out below the unit. The alarm should go off after a few seconds. If it doesn’t, change the batteries and repeat the test. If it still doesn’t work bring in a pro: Again, get an electrical contractor.
Bringing in an electrical contractor is always a good idea because about 20% of all fires in Canada are due to electrical fires, and faulty wiring is usually the cause. Sometimes it’s poor workmanship, other times it’s just wear and tear, but no matter what, know the warning signs: Flickering lights, fuses that always blow or circuits that always trip. Also keep an eye out for discoloured wall outlets, outlets that spark or hot outlets and switches.
House fires happen. Good construction, the right products, the right systems and proper maintenance not only help minimize the damage but can also save your life. It’s your job to make sure your home is protected and your family is safe.
Test your smoke alarms every month, change the batteries twice a year and get a licensed electrical contractor to check out all the electrical in your home every four years. Wire insulation dries out, electrical parts can overheat and receptacles and switches can get loose — all potential causes for an electrical fire.
And remember: If there’s ever a fire, get out, stay out and call for help. Be prepared, have an escape plan and practice it twice a year with your family.