Most home fires involving a fatality happen at night when people are sleeping.
Contrary to popular belief, the smell of smoke may not wake a sleeping person. Poisonous gases and smoke produced by fire numb the senses, putting victims into a deeper sleep. Smoke detectors sound an alarm, alerting those who are sleeping to fire. By providing time to escape, smoke detectors cut the risk of dying in home fires by half. Most new homes have smoke detectors installed.