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It’s Fire Prevention Week: Test Smoke Alarms, Practice Escape Plan
Red Cross survey: Most of us are underprepared for home fires
Darke County, OH—October 6, 2020 — National Fire Prevention Week is
October 4-10, and the American Red Cross urges everyone to test their
smoke alarms and practice their escape plan to reduce the risk of dying
in a home fire by half.
Since February, the Red Cross has responded to more than 29,000 home
fires across the country to help more than 128,000 people with urgent
needs like emergency lodging, financial assistance and recovery
planning. The nation’s most frequent disaster, home fires, are most
often caused by cooking, according to the National Fire Protection
Association, which is sponsoring Fire Prevention Week with the theme,
“Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen!”
RED CROSS SURVEY: MOST OF US ARE UNDERPREPARED Home fires claim seven
lives a day in the U.S., yet, a new 2020 national Red Cross survey
shows most of us aren’t taking the steps to protect ourselves.
Testing your smoke alarms each month helps ensure that they’re working
— which can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by half. Still, 65% of
us don’t.
Practicing your escape plan twice a year also increases the odds of survival. But 70% of us don’t.
Escaping in less than two minutes can be the difference between
survival and tragedy, according to fire experts. Yet more than half of
us think we have more time.
HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY During Fire Prevention Week, test your smoke
alarms and practice your escape plan until everyone in your household
can get out in less than two minutes. Visit redcross.org/fire for more
information or download the free Red Cross Emergency app (search
“American Red Cross” in app stores).
Test your smoke alarms monthly.
Place smoke alarms on each level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas.
Change the batteries at least once a year, if your model requires it.
Check the manufacturer’s date of your smoke alarms. If they’re 10 years
or older, they need to be replaced because the sensor becomes less
sensitive over time. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Practice your escape plan until everyone can get out in less than two minutes.
Include at least two ways to exit every room in your home.
Select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as
your neighbor’s home or landmark like a specific tree in your front
yard, where everyone knows to meet.
Teach children what a smoke alarm sounds like. Talk about fire safety and what to do in an emergency.
About the American Red Cross Home Fire Safety Survey:
These findings are from a CARAVAN® Survey conducted by ENGINE INSIGHTS
on January 10-12, 2020 on behalf of the American Red Cross. For the
survey, a demographically representative sample of 1,004 adults ages 18
and over from the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii was interviewed
online in English. The precision of a CARAVAN survey can be measured
using a margin of error calculation. In this case, the poll has a
margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points for all respondents surveyed.
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