There was a strange chirping noise when we stepped inside our home after our weekend trip. Following the sound, we discovered that one of our smoke alarms had a low battery. If it was chirping all weekend that could explain why the five felines were so skittish when we walked in the door. Or, it could be that they were acting weird because they are cats. Sssh. Don’t tell them that.
Many fire safety organizations suggest that when you “change your clocks, you change your batteries.” The time change this year is on March 11th, so don’t forget to go get batteries for your smoke alarms. If your smoke alarm is a part of an “alarm system,” be sure to call the company before changing any batteries. It might send a false alarm. After you have changed the battery, be sure to test it every month. If you do not have smoke alarms, get them NOW. A smoke alarm can be bought at Wal-Mart for around $10. You don’t have an excuse.
FEMA has a good website titled “Protecting Your Family From Fire” that everyone needs to read. That site states:
“American homes suffer an unwanted fire every 10 seconds, and every 60 seconds they suffer a fire serious enough to call the fire department. Most importantly, every two and a half hours someone is killed in a home fire-that’s over 3,500 people killed in 2000 alone. Another 20,000 people are injured in home fires in a typical year.”
This site also says that several studies have shown that if working smoke alarms are in place, the chances of dying in a fire are halved. The key word here is “working.”
The FEMA site will tell you everything you need to know about fire safety. It will tell you where to place smoke alarms, how to care for them, how to teach children about fire, and how to plan an evacuation route for your home. Let me say it again: READ THE SITE.
But don’t just read it, ACT on it. My best friend died in a fire in 2003 (My God, can it be so long ago?). He had no smoke alarms, and his apartment had only one exit. The fire started near the exit and he was trapped. Not a day passes that I don’t wish to hear the sound of his voice. Don’t make someone who loves you go through the heartache of senseless loss.
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