Fire Prevention Week is coming up, October 6-12. We’ve all grown up hearing:

Stop – Drop – Roll

It’s engraved in our heads as a safety tip if your clothes catch on fire. Let’s back up a bit though to before the fire starts. More specifically, before a home fire starts. It is code to have smoke alarms in homes. These are a great tool that won’t prevent a fire but will help keep you safe if something happens, and your house does catch on fire. We like sharing tips for claims prevention, but for this one, we have safety ideas if you experience a fire.

Check your smoke alarm batteries annually.

Smoke Detectors in Home

Did you know you are supposed to have at least one smoke detector outside of each sleeping area and on every level of the house? If you have a basement, that is included as a level of the house and needs a smoke detector. On floors without bedrooms, smoke detectors should be near living areas. Be sure that everyone sleeping in your home can hear a smoke detector. If they can’t hear a smoke detector that is going off, then it isn’t doing any good. If someone in your household is hearing impaired, then you may need to install more smoke detectors.

Other places you may not have considered putting smoke detectors but are a good idea include furnace rooms and or utility rooms.

Pick a memorable date to be your “battery change” date. It could be a birthday, anniversary of some sort, or holiday (like New Year’s)! Whatever the date is if you smoke detectors run off batteries, then change them on that date annually.

Smart Smoke Detectors

Stepping it up a notch, let’s talk about smart smoke detectors. In this gadget, crazy world we live in, even are smoke detectors are getting smarter. Did you know you can get a smart smoke detector that will send notifications straight to your phone if something is happening? They aren’t just detecting smoke either; their capabilities go beyond that. Smart smoke detectors can detect Carbon Monoxide. The notifications give you more information about what is going on and which detector picked it up.

Could you imagine being on vacation and getting a message that a slow burn has started in your kitchen area? That specific information can be relayed to a neighbor to call the local fire department quickly, or you could call it in yourself. Instead of coming home to a total loss, you can go back to much less damage.

Discounts for Smart Home Devices

There aren’t discounts on most companies for smart home devices yet, but the times are changing. As more devices are coming available, and insurance companies are researching the effect on claims prevention, there could be discounts that start to become available. Keep this in mind during renewal time. When we touch base with you about any updates on the home, let us know about smart devices. Discounts may still be a handful of years down the road, but let’s talk about it each renewal, so you get the most updated industry-standard news.

Your Local Fire Department

Your local Fire Department is a great resource.  Bring your kids by for a tour of the station and let them ask the firefighters their burning questions.  Let them see their gear and the trucks up close.  Allow your kids to see that firefighters aren’t scary before an emergency happens.  You want your kids heading towards a firefighter in a crisis instead of hiding from them.  Also, the Fire Department can conduct smoke detector inspections, or give out smoke detectors for low-income families.  Reach out to see what your local Fire Department has available.

*Noblesville Fire Department provides free smoke detectors for low to moderate-income families. Call 317-776-6336 to get more information.