Sunday proves that winter is well and truly on its way as the clocks go back by one hour. Fire and Rescue Teams across the country are supporting the Governments ‘Fire Kills’ campaign by asking people to test their smoke alarms at the same time.
Over 200 people died from fires in their home during 2013 and the statistics say that you are 4 times more likely to die in a fire in the home if there is no working fire alarm — this means, no matter how annoying the alarm is when you burn your toast, don’t remove the batteries!
Fire alarms come in two forms:
- Battery-operated: These can be installed anywhere and require frequent inspections to make sure the battery is still in working order.
- AC-powered: Installed by an electrician these alarms are more dependable and require less maintenance over longer periods of time, but you should have an independent battery backup so they continue to work during an electrical fire or blackout that will interrupt power.
Please ensure this Sunday (and if possible the first day of every month) you check your fire alarms to prevent any loss of life should a fire occur in your home or place of work.
The Fire Kills campaign has created a number of videos to make your fire alarm testing more fun! Take a look for some interesting ideas, but be careful!
Fire alarms should be replaced every ten years, contact us today for further advise.
Test your fire alarm! That’s the message.
