News Advisory - Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With Install and Maintain Smoke Alarms. It’s the LAW!

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  November 29, 2011

Rockville - - - Montgomery County fire officials have confirmed that there were no working smoke alarms present in several significant residental fires in the County this fall. Fire officials  are urging residents to test their smoke alarms to ensure they are working while reminding residents that Montgomery County Code requires homeowners to install, test and maintain smoke alarms on every level of their home and outside all sleeping areas. Failure to comply with this local law could result in a fine and/or imprisonment.

Most fatal fires occur at night when people are sleeping and experts say that the early warning from a working smoke alarm actually doubles your chances of escaping a home fire. Since the primary job of a smoke alarm is to awaken sleeping people and warn them of urgent danger, it is essential that smoke alarms are working and are proximate to sleeping areas of the home.

Fire Chief Richard Bowers reminds residents that as we approach the winter heating season, it’s critical that every home have working smoke alarms. “Most fires are preventable, said Chief Bowers. “Smoke alarms are one of the best and easiest safety features you can use to protect yourself, your family and your home. I strongly urge every resident to take a few minutes to test their smoke alarms, practice their home fire escape plan and replace any smoke alarms that are 10 years or older. Many people believe that smoke alarms last forever. They don’t.”

The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service offers residents free assistance with smoke alarm installation and maintenance. Any homeowner who cannot install or test smoke alarms in their homes due to age, physical limitations or cannot afford to purchase a smoke alarm or batteries can call 311 for assistance. Visit us at www.mcfrs.org/mcsafe for additional safety information!                                                              

A Different Kind of 9-1-1 Call

By: Daniel the Intern

The Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service website is a great place for fire safety tips and prevention strategies but the information only goes so far. Last week during my internship Captain Oscar Garcia, Mr. Bill Delaney, and I went to a house for an issue that many folks do not think of as an emergency – a home without working smoke alarms. A woman was unsure about whether her smoke alarm was working or not and after her inquiry with the MCFRS, we were on our way as the department believes this to be a critical life safety issue.

She was away at work when we got there but her husband was home and welcomed us inside. He was in a wheelchair and needed assistance checking the condition of a smoke alarm that was on the ceiling. However, he had a good feeling it was dead because it had been installed when the house was built and that was many years ago. He was right; the smoke alarm was completely dead with cob webs and all and we gladly installed a new one with a fresh battery. All smoke alarms need to be replaced every 10 years!


From USFA Web Site

He then allowed us to go downstairs and check to see if a working smoke alarm was present, which we all felt was highly unlikely. Upon investigation there may have been one on the ceiling in the past, as there were two screws, but nothing was between them so we installed another.

In the adjacent room, we noticed a hot water heater with a few things that can burn (towels, rags, clothing) leaning on it. It was potentially an immediate fire hazard as you need to keep any thing that can burn off of, and away from, anything that produces heat. We returned upstairs to let the home owner know about the issue and asked permission to correct it and make him safer – which he agreed.

Another topic we discussed was cooking safety because he prepares his own meals and being in a wheelchair, there were additional risks involved. While cooking on a stove, loose sleeves are a common article of clothing that ignites and we explained it to him. Handles that are over the edge are also dangerous because they can easily be bumped into when moving around the kitchen. Finally, we asked if he had a home fire escape plan and whether or not he could get out safely if no one was around to assist him. He said he did have a plan and had practiced it before so we made sure everything was done before we left.

It was awesome to know that we potentially prevented a fire from happening while installing working smoke alarms to alert them just in case there is a fire! Hopefully the smoke alarms will never have to alert the family of a fire but if one does occur then we might have saved a life or two. Call MC311 if you want to have MCFRS look at your smoke alarms to make sure you are protected.

IT’S A FACT: All Smoke Alarms Installed Before May 2000 Should be Replaced Now!

A properly maintained smoke alarm will work forever, right? Not so fast!

IT’S A FACT: All hardwired or battery-operated smoke alarms, installed before May 2000, should be replaced now!

A smoke alarm’s lifespan is 10 years, which means any smoke alarm installed before May 2000 is too old and needs to be replaced. The smoke alarm is no longer reliable. Part of smoke alarm maintenance includes knowing when to replace the unit. The few minutes it takes to replace a smoke alarm can save the lives of roommates, family members, neighbors and firefighters.

More than 3,000 people die in home fires each year, and the majority of them have no working smoke alarms. To prevent these deaths, the United States Fire Administration (USFA) is sponsoring the nationwide Install. Inspect. Protect. Campaign, which emphasizes that “Smoke Alarms Save Lives.”

The USFA offers a few helpful tips on smoke alarms: 

• Every residence, and place where people sleep, should be equipped with both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual sensor smoke alarms, which contain both ionization and photoelectric smoke sensors.
• Place properly installed and maintained smoke alarms both inside and outside of sleeping areas and on every level of your home.
• Interconnected smoke alarms are best, because if one sounds, they all sound.
• Test smoke alarms monthly and change alkaline batteries at least once every year, or as instructed by the manufacturer. You can use a date you already know, like your birthday or when you change your clocks as a reminder.
• Write the installation date on the inside cover of the smoke alarm for future reference.

Homeowners, landlords and renters should check to verify exactly when each smoke alarm in the home was installed. If any smoke alarm was installed before May 2000, now is the time to have it replaced.

For more smoke alarm information, including powerful radio and video public service announcements go to www.usfa.dhs.gov/campaigns/smokealarms.