Fire Prevention Week Aims to Save Lives, Protect Families

It’s that time of year again, when the weather is turning across much of the US, and heating our homes becomes a priority. Not surprising, then, that October is when residential fires reach their peak: chimneys and furnaces need cleaning, portable heating devices are faulty or are not used correctly, and more.  That’s why next week has been selected as Fire Prevention Week – and once again the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is sounding the alarm. This year’s theme is, “Protect Your Family from Fire,” and as usual FrontPoint is ahead of the pack on this important issue, since we recommend at least one wireless monitored smoke/heat sensor for every system we sell. 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.
• Heating is the second leading cause of home fires, fire deaths and fire injuries.
• Smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths.
• Electrical failures or malfunctions are factors in roughly 50,000 reported fires each year.
• Roughly 30, 000 intentionally set home structure fires are reported each year.

Why Choose Monitored Fire Protection? Let’s face it: your standard smoke detector is really just a noisemaker. Yes, it’s much better than nothing, but 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 previous post on monitored fire protection. Back to the Fire Statistics Here are some sobering 2009 fire stats (the last year reported):

• One home structure fire was reported every 87 seconds.
• On average, seven people died in home fires every day. Adults 65 and over face the highest risk of fire death.
• U.S. fire departments responded to 362,500 home structure fires. These fires caused 12,650 civilian injuries, 2,565 civilian deaths, $7.6 billion in direct damage.
• Roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. About one in five smoke alarm failures was due to dead batteries.
• Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half.
• Heating equipment was the second leading cause of all reported home fires and home fire deaths.
• The leading factor contributing to heating equipment fires was failure to clean, principally creosote from solid fueled heating equipment, primarily chimneys.
• Half of home heating fire deaths resulted from fires caused by heating equipment too close to things that can burn, such as upholstered furniture, clothing, mattresses or bedding.
• U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 64,100 heating-related home fires each year between 2005-2009, causing an average of 560 deaths, 1,620 injuries and $904 million in direct property damage.

FrontPoint continues to provide the latest in interactive, wireless home security, including fire monitoring for no additional monthly fee. We are proud members of the NFPA, and fully support their goal of protecting us in our homes and workplaces – especially with this year’s theme: “Protect Your Family from Fire.” Just one more reason why FrontPoint is known as the #1 ranked alarm company in the US. 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.”