“Smoke alarms are such a common presence in our homes that it’s easy to just expect them to work every time,” says CableOrganizer.com product specialist Christina Hansen. “But like many other devices and appliances around the house, smoke detectors require regular cleaning and maintenance to function effectively. And, there are many models on the market offering both smoke and carbon monoxide detection – an often overlooked consideration.”

To ensure the best family fire safety, smoke and carbon monoxide detection possible, CableOrganizer.com offers these tips:

Easy Fire Safety Strategies:

• If you have children in the house, always store candles and matches well out of their reach, either in a locked drawer or on a high shelf.
• Always keep space heaters a minimum of 3 feet away from flammable materials like paper, clothing, bedding and draperies.
• Never leave food that’s being cooked on the stovetop or under the broiler unattended – if you need to leave the kitchen, turn off the heat source.
• Keep a small multi-purpose fire extinguisher (one that’s approved by a testing laboratory) in your home for putting out small fires.
• If you have a fireplace, be sure to have it cleaned by a professional once a year to remove flammable soot, and always keep screen in place to catch flying sparks.
• When grilling outdoors, always use the appropriate type of lighter fluid, and never add more after the fire is lit – this can cause flames to flare up and spread to other objects or areas.

Smoke Alarm Maintenance Musts:

• Keep them clean. Use your vacuum cleaner’s upholstery attachment to clear way dust and cobwebs. And if the manufacturer’s instructions say that it’s safe to, gently vacuum inside the detector as well.
• Change the batteries once a year. Choose a date that’s easy to remember, like a birthday, anniversary, or the day you switch over to Daylight Saving Time.
• Test your smoke detectors every month. Just press the test button – if the alarm sounds, it works. Want to be extra sure? Light a candle, blow it out, and then hold it below the detector – the trailing smoke should set the alarm off.

Facts to Know About Carbon Monoxide:

• Carbon Monoxide (CO) is produced when wood and fossil fuels like oil, natural gas, charcoal, kerosene and gasoline don’t burn completely.
• CO can’t be seen, smelled, or tasted – that’s why its nickname is “the Silent Killer.” Only a carbon monoxide detector can warn you that CO is present.
• CO poisoning often feels like the flu, with symptoms like fatigue, muscle aches, nausea and headache, but can progress to disorientation, elevated heart rate, convulsions, organ damage, and even death.
• Carbon monoxide harms people by blocking oxygen from entering the bloodstream. CO bonds to the hemoglobin in blood, preventing it from doing its job: carrying oxygen throughout your body.
• When you’re asleep, you can’t feel CO symptoms. Make sure that carbon monoxidedetectors are installed in all bedrooms and sleeping areas of your home – they save lives!

Creating an Escape Plan:

Does your family know where to go and what to do if your smoke alarm or carbon monoxide detector goes off? If not, NOW is the time to make a plan!

• Walk through your home with your children and point out all possible exits, like doors, windows and fire escapes.
• Sit down together to draw a map of your home, and mark the shortest escape routes from each room.
• Choose someplace safe and familiar outside your home where family members can meet in an emergency, such as a neighbor’s house, a nearby street sign, or a lamp-post.
• Pair young, elderly, or handicapped members of your household with an “escape buddy” who can help them safely leave the house during a fire or any other emergency.
• Hold practice escape drills every few months, both day and night, so that your family is extremely familiar with the procedure should an emergency ever occur.

Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making and fire and life safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. Live Safe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable. Live Safe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.

Smoke also contains another poisonous gas called carbon monoxide. This tasteless, odorless gas causes confusion, reduced mental capacity and eventually death.  If impaired by carbon monoxide poisoning, victims will likely be challenged to find an escape route or make a sound decision about their safety. Knowing how to avoid smoke is one of the most important factors in surviving a fire.

Smoke is lighter than air so it rises above air. During a fire, the superheated air and smoke fill the room from the top down. Some poisonous smoke may settle near the floor, but in between is a safety zone of breathable air about one to two feet above the floor.

To prevent smoke inhalation, crawl on your hands and knees to your exit, keeping your head in the safety zone. Firefighters use this same method when navigating a building where smoke is present.

Getting an early warning to the presence of smoke can give you the few vital minutes you need to get out safely. Smoke alarms are designed to do just that.  They give you the precious time you need to implement your escape plan and crawl under the smoke to safety.

Line of Duty” Author: Fire Marshal Alan Perkins, CFPS, is a 32-year veteran of the fire service. A Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the National Fire Protection Association and a member of several similar safety organizations. Perkins is the Fire Marshal for the Washington Township Fire Department, Dublin, Ohio. For more information, contact: Leslie Dybiec, Public Information Officer Phone: (614) 652-3928 Fax: (614) 766-2507 or ldybiec@wtwp.com.

LiveSafe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making fire safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. LiveSafe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable. LiveSafe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.