With October being National Fire Safety Month, John Drengenberg, manager of Consumer Affairs for UL says that by installing a smoke alarm the risk of dying is cut in half. “By providing an early warning in the event of a fire and practicing a well-developed home fire escape plan, smoke alarms allow you and your family sufficient time to reach safety,” Drengenberg says.
In the United States, 95 percent of homes have at least one smoke detector and more than half of home fire deaths are from fires in the 5 percent of homes without a smoke alarm, according to UL and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), which is the prime backer of National Fire Safety Month.
UL advises people to test smoke alarms once a month, replace batteries twice a year and replace the smoke alarm every 10 years. UL also recommends looking for the UL Mark. It indicates that samples of the alarm have met UL safety standards.
