How to Check to Your Smoke Alarm and Create a Home Fire Escape Plan

According to the National Fire Protection Association, three out of five home fire deaths resulted from fires in properties without working smoke alarms. Smoke alarm failures usually result from missing, disconnected, or dead batteries.

The risk of dying in a home structure fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast.  Working smoke alarms give you early warning so you can get outside quickly.  The National Fire Protection Association recommends checking your smoke alarms once a month.

Working smoke alarms are one important part of a home fire escape plan.  The National Fire Protection Association lays out the steps to create a basic home fire escape plan on their website. http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/for-consumers/escape-planning/basic-fire-escape-planning.  Every family member should know and practice your home fire escape plan. This is especially important as research indicates that sleeping children don’t always awake when a smoke alarm activates.

This YouTube video shows how to test a smoke detector.