Every day in the United States, an average of three children die needlessly in home fires. That translates to about 1,100 children every year. When you consider that 90 percent of these young deaths happened in homes that did not have working smoke detectors , it can be maddening to think a death of even one child could have been avoided for the price of a new battery. In American homes, about 92 percent have smoke detectors installed. Regardless, nearly one-third of those smoke detectors don't work because of old batteries.
Most fires occur at night while people sleep.
Even if there are no flames from a fire in your room, the smoke that seeps in can silently suffocate and kill without warning. If you can't afford to buy the smoke detectors, many fire departments have smoke detector programs. These programs range from testing your smoke detectors and installing fresh batteries, to supplying and installing smoke detectors in your home for free. Your local fire department can give you tips on what type of detector to buy and choices to make with respect to those detectors operated by battery or household current. Install smoke detectors on the ceiling or high on an inside wall just below the ceiling where smoke rises.