American Red Cross Research on Smoke Alarms

I personally know of two families who lost their homes to house fires. I think most people don't expect to have a home fire and in my mind, when the house is paid for — they might even drop their insurance — since nothing has ever happened...

See the information below about new research from the American Red Cross that can inform you about home fire safety. 

"Every day, seven people die in home fires, most in homes that lack working smoke alarms. But new research from the American Red Cross shows that Americans underestimate the chance that a home fire could happen to them and are unaware of simple steps that can help keep them safe.

In fact …


• Only 1 in 4 people believe they are likely to experience a home fire in their lifetime.

• About 40 percent of people have forgotten to turn off a stove or oven, even though cooking is the leading cause of home fires.

• 80 percent of people believe everyone in their household knows what to do when a smoke alarm goes off. But the fact is that less than half have a plan in place, and only about half have practiced that plan.

• 1 out of 10 have had to sacrifice buying other essentials for their families to purchase a smoke alarm.

The Red Cross is combating these statistics and misinformation by installing smoke alarms and discussing fire safety nationwide. To continue to save lives, the Red Cross will Sound the Alarm about fire safety through a series of smoke alarm installation events in more than 100 high-risk communities in the United States, from April 28 to May 13 – volunteers and partners will install 100,000 free smoke alarms. So far, the Red Cross and partners have installed 1.1 million smoke alarms that have saved 381 lives."

And, for those that can afford it (anyone reading this blog can) don't forget to install a carbon monoxide detector, or two, in your home. I've got one on each level of our home.