You're three times more likely to die in a house fire if you don't have a working smoke alarm. It's a fact.
If you have a fire in your home, a smoke alarm will buy you valuable time. Time to put your escape plan into action. Time to get your family to safety.
Where should I fit a smoke alarm? You don't need to be a DIY expert to fit smoke alarms in your home. They're neat and unobtrusive. And they can cost less than Lm5.50.
If your home is on one level - a flat or bungalow - fix it to the ceiling in the hallway, between the living room and bedrooms. For extra safety, fit alarms in the bedrooms.
Don't fix alarms on walls or shelves. And don't fit an alarm too near the kitchen door - smoke alarms can be set off by steam and cooking fumes.
If your home has more than one floor, fit one alarm at the bottom of the stairs and another on each upstairs landing.
Fitting your smoke alarm
Fit your alarm within seven metres of the living room door and within three metres of a bedroom door.
It should be at least 300 mm from any wall, light or heating/air-conditioning vent.
Test the alarm to check that you can hear it all through the house. If you can't hear it, move it or buy more alarms.
Testing your smoke alarm
Around one in every five smoke alarms fail to work because they don't have a battery, or because the battery is flat.
Test your smoke alarm every week. If the alarm doesn't work, fit a new battery. If it still doesn't work, buy a new alarm
If your alarm is beeping from time to time, change the battery. Change the battery once a year, even if it's still working. Do it on a day you'll always remember. Another birthday, another battery. New Year, new battery. And keep a spare battery handy.
Clean your smoke alarm. Gently vacuum the inside and outside casing once a year, when you change the battery. And remember that smoke alarms don't last for ever. You'll need a new one every 10 years.
People with special needs
Civil Protection personnel will know of groups that can give advice and help in supplying and fitting safety equipment for elderly people, and people with disabilities and other special needs.
There are mains-powered smoke alarms that have back-up batteries, and vibrating pads and/or flashing lights that warn people with hearing impairments.
Always fit a smoke alarm in the bedroom of a person who smokes in bed, or who uses an electric blanket.
And people who may need assistance in escaping in a fire must be able to call for help. Systems they can use include a buzzer or intercom, a telephone with an automatically dialled emergency number, or a private or local authority assistance alert scheme.