Replace Smoke Alarm Batteries
Fire safety experts across the country, including the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), recommend putting new batteries in your smoke detectors at least once a year. A handy reminder is the day you set your clocks back in the fall. Choose fresh, good-quality alkaline batteries so the detector keeps working all year.
Test Your Smoke Detectors
Once the new battery is in, press the test button to make sure the detector itself still works.
Have Enough Smoke Detectors
Every floor of the home needs at least one smoke detector, counting the basement and family room, and the most important spot is outside each bedroom.
Keep Smoke Detectors Clean
Once a month, vacuum away dust and cobwebs so each detector stays sensitive to smoke.
Refresh Flashlight Batteries
Load emergency flashlights with good-quality alkaline batteries so they work when you need them. Keep a working flashlight by your bed and in the kitchen, basement and family room; during a fire, you can use it to signal for help.
Keep a Fire Extinguisher Handy
Mount a fire extinguisher in or close to the kitchen, and learn how to use it. If you are buying one, the IAFC suggests a multipurpose model listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory.
Plan and Practice Your Escape
Map out at least two ways to get out of your home and practice them with everyone in the household. Young children are twice as likely to die when a house catches fire, often because fear and confusion take over. Teach children that the smoke alarm means there is a fire, and make sure they know what it sounds like.
Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery
Fire chiefs nationwide, battery makers and your local fire department all encourage one simple habit that could save your life: put a new battery in each smoke detector when you set your clocks back to standard time every fall.
By the Numbers
On average, three children die in home fires every day, or about 1,100 a year, and roughly 3,600 more are hurt each year. Nine out of ten child fire deaths happen in homes without a working smoke detector.
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