Home Fire Safety makes good sense year-round

WASHINGTON, D C, November 14, 2005 - This year the nation’s attention has been focused on the massive destruction and human suffering caused by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, but Americans need to remember that personal disasters and residential fires are happening every day in our communities.

Every home should be equipped with smoke alarms to give early warning of a fire. They are the first line of defense and provide families a chance to escape fire in their home. Even with the early warning that smoke alarms provide, Robertory adds: “You and your household may have little time to decide the best method to escape -- that is why it is so important to plan two routes out of every room and a meeting place just outside your home.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a residential fire occurred every 77 seconds in the United States during 2004. There were 410,500 residential structure fires resulting in 3,190 fire-related deaths and 14,175 injuries in the home.

Many Home Fire Tragedies are Preventable

Many tragedies can be prevented if families take a few simple precautions, such as having working smoke alarms on every level of their homes and having family fire escape plans in place to help get everyone out of the house safely. NFPA data for 2004 indicates that four of every 10 house fires occur in homes without smoke alarms. Where fires were reported in homes that did have smoke alarms, in one-quarter of homes, the alarms didn’t work due to dead batteries or other problems.

Further, a recent poll conducted by the Red Cross found that 59 percent of the public had not made an emergency plan, which means there is still much to be done to educate the public about these simple preventative measures.

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