Although smoke alarms are in 92 percent of American homes, nearly one-third do not work because of worn or missing batteries. This prevents the U.S. from achieving the full potential of increased fire safety from smoke alarms. Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire nearly in half by providing an early warning and critical extra seconds to escape. Smoke alarm maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths and injuries.
Education is key.
After widespread installation of smoke alarms and education about their importance, residential fire deaths have fallen by 50 percent. In fact, residential fire deaths dropped 16.9 percent in 1997 to 3,360 - the lowest ever recorded. Somewhere in the nation, a residential fire occurs about every 78 seconds. The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 2a.m. and 5 a.m. - when most people are asleep. Tragically, many people mistakenly believe they would be awakened by the smell of smoke in time to escape.