Ithaca, N.Y. — The Ithaca Fire Department has endorsed a set of recommendations to help you prevent fires from destroying your home.
It’s doing so as part of Fire Prevention Week, which runs from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11, according to Lt. Thomas Basher of the Ithaca Fire Department.
National Fire Prevention Week and the Ithaca Fire Department issue the following 4 suggestions:
1 — Install smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
2 — Test all smoke alarms every month by using the test button.
3 — Replace all smoke alarms every 10 years or sooner if they don’t respond properly when tested.
4 — Create a family fire safety plan that includes learning about fire hazards and how to avoid them, as well as developing a home fire escape plan is a great idea. Families should regularly practice these plans and explain them to children, revising the plan as the children grow up.
‘Smoke alarms save lives’
A press release from the Ithaca Fire Department highlighted these statistics:
— Having a working smoke alarm in the home cuts the risk of dying in a fire in half.
— On average each year, three out of five home fire deaths result in fires where there are either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
— In one-quarter (23 percent) of the home fire deaths, smoke alarms were present but did not sound.
