It is rare in our area to find a home without a Fire Alarm. Code has required Fire Alarms here in Atlanta since the early 80's. There is even a survey in 2008 that says that 24 out of 25 Homes in the US has at least 1 Fire Alarm and 40% of the deaths from fire were in homes where there was no alarm present.
October 3-9 2010 is National Fire Prevention Week. This is a good time to remember to test your alarm and make sure it does not need batteries. When fire alarms fail to operate it is because the batteries are missing, disconnected or dead. If you have ever heard that Chirping sound and disconnected the battery to stop it, please for the sake of your family and loved ones, make sure you replace it now!!!
Nothing in the house is more important than your life and the lives of your loved ones. The number one priority should be getting out of the house. The fire does not usually kill, the smoke does. In this day and age of electronic storage of documents, you can scan all of the important documents in your home and keep a copy on a CD offsite from your home so that the important things will not be lost. You can also back up your laptop with remote backup through some very easy to use and secure online backup services.
Homeowners should develop and practice home escape plans to make sure that everyone is prepared to get out of the house in the quickest time. It is important to have multiple plans in case one route is blocked. The plans need to also establish a meeting or gathering place outside of the home.
Get more information on Fire Safety in the home on firepreventionweek.org
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