The National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA), the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week™ for more than 95 years, has announced “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety™” as the theme for Fire Prevention Week 2021, October 3-9. From beeps to chirps, this year’s campaign works to better educate the public about the sounds smoke alarms make, what those sounds mean, and how to respond to them.
“Smoke alarms have played a leading role in reducing fire death rates over the past 40 years, but we still have more work to do in maximizing their effectiveness,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of Outreach and Advocacy.
Smoke Alarms
According to the latest NFPA “Smoke Alarms in the U.S.” report, working smoke alarms in the home reduce the risk of dying in a reported fire by more than half. However, almost three out of five home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms (41 percent) or smoke alarms that failed to operate (16 percent).
People tend to remove smoke alarm batteries or dismantle alarms altogether resulting in tragic consequences Missing or non-functional power sources, including missing or disconnected batteries, dead batteries, and disconnected hardwired alarms, or other AC power issues, are the most common factors when smoke alarms fail to operate.
“People tend to remove smoke alarm batteries or dismantle alarms altogether when the alarm begins to chirp as a result of low batteries or the alarm is no longer working properly, or when experiencing nuisance alarms,” said Carli. “These behaviors present serious risks to safety that can have tragic consequences in the event of a fire.”
Addressing the know-how
This year’s Fire Prevention Week theme, “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety,” helps people better understand the reasons smoke alarms may sound and provides the know-how to effectively address them. The campaign also addresses special considerations for the deaf and hard of hearing, along with information about carbon monoxide alarms.
“Giving people the tools to properly respond to alarms sounding – whether it’s an actual fire or simply time to change a battery – can make a life-saving difference,” said Carli.
Key messages
- When a smoke alarm or carbon monoxide (CO) alarm sounds, respond immediately by exiting the home as quickly as possible.
- If your alarm begins to chirp, it may mean that the batteries are running low and need to be replaced. If the alarm continues to chirp after the batteries are replaced, or the alarm is more than 10 years old, it is time to replace the alarm.
- Test all smoke and CO alarms monthly. Press the test button to make sure the alarm is working.
- If there is someone in your household who is deaf or hard of hearing, install a bed shaker and strobe light alarms that will alert that person to fire.
- Know the difference between the sound of a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm – three beeps for smoke alarms; four beeps for carbon monoxide alarms.
