JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
Working smoke alarms can make a life-saving difference in a
fire. That’s the message behind this
year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign titled “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep:
Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm.”
Along with firefighters and safety advocates nationwide,
Joint Base San Antonio firefighters are joining forces with the National Fire
Protection Association during Fire Prevention Week, Sunday through Oct. 10, to
remind JBSA residents about the importance of having working smoke alarms in
the home and testing them monthly.
According to the latest NFPA research, working smoke alarms
cut the chance of dying in a fire by half. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of home
fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with missing or malfunctioning smoke
alarms.
Fire Chief Mark Ledford, a 34-year veteran of the Air Force
Fire Emergency Services, has seen the positive effects of smoke alarms.
“In a fire, seconds count,” Ledford said. “Roughly half of
home fire deaths result from fires reported at night between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
when most people are asleep. Home smoke
alarms can alert people to a fire before it spreads, giving everyone enough
time to get out.”
This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign includes the
following smoke alarm messages:
• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each
separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
• Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.
• Replace all smoke alarms after 10 years.
• Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the
smoke alarm and understands what to do when they hear it.
According to recent NFPA reports, the death rate was much
higher in fires in which a smoke alarm was present but did not operate than it
was in fires in which the homes had no smoke alarms.
To learn more about smoke alarms and this year’s Fire
Prevention Week campaign, visit NFPA’s Web site at
http://www.firepreventionweek.org. For fire and life safety questions, contact
the operating location fire prevention offices at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston at
221-2727, JBSA-Lackland at 671-2921 and JBSA-Randolph at 652-6915.