Understanding Fire: How smoke alarms save lives in Portland home fires

2/21/2020 (Permalink)

Call SERVPRO of Northwest Portland NOW at 503-SERVPRO if you have fire damage in your home or business!

STOP! If you have fire or smoke damage in your property right now, call us at 503-SERVPRO RIGHT NOW. Don’t wait to mitigate - the longer damage sits unattended, the more likely it will develop secondary damage. Call us at 503-SERVPRO now.

SERVPRO of Northwest Portland understands the devastation a fire has on a residential home or commercial business. We also understand the struggle of trying to return back to normal life after your home or business sustains fire damage.

Here at SERVPRO of Northwest Portland, we are passionate about spreading emergency preparedness awareness. We’ve written two blogs on this topic, What to know if fire occurs in your Portland home or business, and What to remember when building a fire escape plan. 

For our next installment in our Understanding Fire series, we’re highlighting the importance of fire detection tools.

Did you know that 40% of home fire deaths occur in homes that do not have a smoke alarm? Additionally, for fires where a smoke alarm was present but did not operate, 43% of those smoke alarms simply had missing or disconnected batteries.

Having functional smoke alarms in your home drastically increases your chance of surviving a home fire. If you do not have smoke alarms, it is encouraged that you install them as soon as possible. Please read below for crucial information on how to operate and maintain your home’s smoke detectors.

• It is encouraged that you install both ionization AND photoelectric smoke alarms, OR dual sensor smoke alarms, which contain both ionization and photoelectric smoke sensors.
• Test batteries in your smoke alarms on a monthly basis.
• Replace batteries in battery-powered and hard-wired smoke alarms at least once a year (except non-replaceable 10-year lithium batteries).
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, both inside and outside of sleeping areas.
• Replace the entire smoke alarm unit every 8-10 years or according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Never disable a smoke alarm while cooking - it can be a deadly mistake.

Smoke alarm safety for people with access or functional needs:

• Audible alarms for visually impaired people should pause with a small window of silence between each successive cycle so that they can listen to instructions or voices of others.
• Smoke alarms with a vibrating pad or flashing light are available for the hearing impaired. Contact your local fire department for information about obtaining a flashing or vibrating smoke alarm.
• Smoke alarms with a strobe light outside the home to catch the attention of neighbors, and emergency call systems for summoning help, are also available. 

If you would like to learn more about fire preparedness, please visit Ready.gov.

If you experience fire or smoke damage in your home, call SERVPRO of Northwest Portland as soon as practical, at 503-283-3658.

Sources: Ready.gov, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA.org)