Smoke alarms that are properly installed and maintained play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries. Fire spreads fast and a working smoke alarm gives you early warning so you can get outside quickly.
NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) Statistics
- Roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
- More than one-third (38 per cent) of home fire deaths result from fires in which no smoke alarms are present.
- The risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms.
Information in the following graph shows the time of death for fatalities during fire incidents. “It is not a surprise that the high-risk time of death is between 22:00 and 04:00 as this is the time most people are in bed.” Says Neels de Klerk, Sasol representative on the CAER committee.” This is also the period when you are in a deeper sleep.”
| Source: Van Niekerk, et al., 2009 |
Statistics also shows that the children below the age of 5 and persons above the age of 71 is the most vulnerable. “Factors that might contribute to this statistic may include, mobility, the ability to recognize fires or the sound of fire alarms and the absence of smoke alarms” says de Klerk. The other age groups between 21 and 36 is mostly males and has an alcohol content in their blood that is higher than the quantity allowed for driving a motor vehicle. This could contribute to the individual’s ability to react to emergency incidents or the sound of an activated smoke alarm.
It is clear from the graph below that since the enforcement of the use of smoke alarms in homes in the US the death rate in children below the age of four years has dramatically decreased.
The use of smoke alarms in South Africa.
Currently, there is no legislation enforcing the use of smoke alarms in residential homes. Although the current building regulations are mostly focused on life safety it only requires smoke alarms/ smoke detection systems in other occupancies. It is therefor up to each individual homeowner to decide if he want to install smoke alarms in his house. Smoke alarms are usually available at hardware stores and some large retail stores.
A home smoke alarm is a portable device without any hardwiring and certain smoke alarms can be connected to your security alarm. Install a home smoke alarm today and save a life.
