Monitored Home Fire Alarm Systems – National Fire Prevention Week

October is not just about crime awareness: this week also happens to be Fire Prevention Week – and once again the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is sounding the alarm. This year’s theme is, “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!” FrontPoint is actually ahead of the pack on this important issue, since we recommend at least one monitored smoke/heat sensor for every system we sell.

Why monitored fire protection? Let’s face it: your standard smoke detector is really just a noisemaker. Yes, it’s much better than nothing, but don’t you want to know the fire department is being summoned as soon as possible? You may be away – or, much worse, overcome by smoke in your own home. That’s when you definitely want a system that quickly reaches the people who can help. Here’s a link to my recent post on monitored fire protection.

The NFPA has a web site full of great information for you, and here’s just a sample:

• Cooking is the #1 cause of home fires and injuries.
• Smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths.
• Heating is the second leading cause of home fires, fire deaths and fire injuries.
• Electrical failures or malfunctions are factors in ~50,000 reported fires each year.
• Roughly 30,000 intentionally set home structure fires are reported each year.

And here are some sobering 2008 stats (the last year reported):

• U.S. fire departments responded to 386,500 home fires.
• Home fires killed 2,755 people and injured 13,160.
• Someone was injured in a reported home fire every 40 minutes.
• Roughly eight people died in home fires every day.
• A fire department responded to a home fire every 82 seconds.
• 83% of all fire deaths and 79% of fire injuries resulted from home fires.

FrontPoint Security continues to provide the latest in interactive, wireless home security, including fire monitoring for no additional monthly fee. We are members of the NFPA, and fully support their goal of making us all safer in our homes and workplaces.

So, take a tip from Sparky, the NFPA mascot, and get with the program. By the way, according to NFPA, “Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire, the tragic 1871 conflagration that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.”