A working
smoke alarm can provide an early warning of danger and sleeping with a closed bedroom door can hold back toxic smoke and flames to allow additional time for occupants to escape.
Cheshire Fire and Rescue Serviceis supporting the month-long campaign as part of a national initiative run by the Home Office, which aims to raise awareness of the dangers of not having a
smoke alarm as well as top tips when purchasing and fitting one.
The occupant had no working
smoke alarm on that floor, so they were not alerted to the blaze for some time.
Firefighters from the United Kingdom were duped by a parrot that made a confusingly convincing imitation of a
smoke alarm.
This can be done by having tenants sign a
smoke alarm agreement and by including a written reminder with each monthly rent receipt, encouraging regular testing of alarms.
But when was the last time you replaced your
smoke alarm batteries, or even the alarms themselves?
BSI, which issues the official
smoke alarm Kitemark says "whatever technology type is used, the alarm gives adequate warning when there is a real fire".
The focus on
smoke alarm replacement comes as the result of a recent survey conducted by NFPA, which showed that only a small percentage of people know how old their
smoke alarms are or how often they need to be replaced.
Phil Lancaster, director of community protection at Cleveland Fire Brigade said: "In many of these cases a
smoke alarm may have given an earlier warning for people to get out and stay out and call us as quickly as possible.
A THIRD of homes involved in Coventry house fires last year either did not have a working
smoke alarm fitted.
"Never remove the batteries from your
smoke alarm to use in a child's toy or to put into the TV remote, for example.
Less than one-third of children ages 5-15 will wake up if a home
smoke alarm sounds, according to a study published in the March issue of Fire and Materials.
smoke alarm - an alarm that is tripped off by fire or smoke