Fire accidents are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In 2008, the United States had suffered 3,320 fire deaths. Around 16,705 people survived but were injured. Furthermore, 84% of the people who died in the 2008 fires occurred in their own home.
The United States Fire Administration has released these numbers as part of last year’s statistics. They do this every year. From the looks of it, there doesn’t seem to be a huge drop in numbers. Millions of fire incidents still occur each year and people continue to get hurt.
These numbers are a revelation to everyone. It clearly shows that being complacent with fire is not a good idea. You can be part of the thousands of lives that were lost because of it. In fact, the idea that most of the deaths occurred in residences should already be a warning.
It is important that everyone is prepared for the fire. There are many ways to instigate fire preparedness and you can do it through smoke detectors.
Facts about smoke detectors
Smoke detectors are devices that warn homeowners of impending fires. It has several types: ionization, optical or combined. These devices can be powered by electricity or batteries. They would send out an electric bell sound once it detects smoke. But the alarm is triggered depending on the sensitivity of the device to smoke.
Smoke detectors are now a part of most homes in the United States. The only problem is that people do not recognize its importance. Some people neglect the maintenance of these devices that, at the time of the fire, do not work. According to statistics, about 40% of fire deaths occurred in homes that did not have this device. Another 20% of deaths were caused by malfunctioning smoke detectors. If these people had had working smoke detectors, they might have had a better chance of escaping before the fire got worse. On the other hand, they can also find time to put out small to medium-scale fires through fire extinguishers.
Installation of smoke detectors
When you buy this device, it is not enough that you install them and let them do their thing. Owning them entails various responsibilities, such as replacing batteries, maintenance, and functionality testing.
When choosing a smoke detector for a particular room, consider the type of fires a particular alarm is sensitive to. If this room is prone to smoldering fire, you may want photoelectric alarms. If it’s more about blazing fires, ionization works perfectly. However, it is still better if you get the mixed type, although it costs more.
Smoke detectors are even more effective at preventing fires when used in conjunction with your fire systems. Today, there are more advanced features for smoke detectors. People can now interface them with communication devices so they can alert firefighters of an impending fire without having to dial 911. On the other hand, they can have automatic features. When the alarm sounds and with a certain density of smoke, the automatic sprinklers will be activated. This makes firefighting so easy.