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28 Fire-Related Deaths Reported in U.S. Since Thursday

NORTHBROOK, Ill., - March 14, 2006 - - Fires in five U.S. communities since Thursday have killed 28 people, including nine in Tennessee.

As fire officials continue to investigate these blazes, safety experts remind consumers that properly maintained residential smoke alarms can greatly reduce fire-related fatalities.

"Home fire fatalities have been cut in half since smoke alarms first became widely available," said James A. Burns, president of the National Association of State Fire Marshals. "Nearly all U.S. homes have at least one smoke alarm, but almost half of all fatal fires occur in homes without working smoke alarms."

The need for working smoke alarms becomes even greater when the amount of flammable synthetic materials is considered. A 2004 study by the National Institute of Standards and Testing (NIST) showed that home fires are burning hotter and up to five times faster than they did 30 years ago, reducing escape time to as little as two to five minutes.

"Families need as much warning as possible to evacuate safely," said John Drengenberg, manager of Consumer Affairs for Underwriters Laboratories (UL). "Properly installed and maintained smoke alarms are the most effective way to protect you and your family from the risk of fire."

Drengenberg offered these tips for purchasing, maintaining and installing smoke alarms:

  • You may need several smoke alarms to adequately protect your family. Install at least one on every level of your home, including the basement and outside each sleeping area;
  • Interconnected smoke alarms will help alert occupants on all levels of a residence, regardless of where the fire starts;
  • If you or family members sleep with the bedroom door closed, install smoke alarms inside the bedroom;
  • Some individuals, particularly children, older people, and those with special needs, may not wake up to the sound of a smoke alarm. You should be aware of this when developing a home fire escape plan;
  • Follow the manufacturer's instructions for installing smoke alarms;
  • Test smoke alarms at least once a month;
  • Don't disconnect a smoke alarm or remove the batteries for any reason;
  • Replace batteries in all smoke alarms twice a year;
  • Replace the smoke alarm every 10 years, or as the manufacturer recommends;
  • When you purchase a smoke alarm, look for the UL Mark. The symbol indicates representative samples of the alarm have met UL's stringent safety standards.

"Smoke alarms have been around a long enough time that most people know to evacuate immediately when they hear one," Drengenberg said. "Unfortunately, people forget to change batteries in smoke alarms at least once a year and to replace the smoke alarm itself every 10 years."

The number of home fire fatalities has been cut in half since smoke alarms first became widely available during the mid-1970s, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the U.S. Fire Administration. Currently, 95 percent of U.S. homes have at least one smoke alarm, but 43 percent of all fatal fires occur in homes without working smoke alarms.

To build upon NIST's findings that fires are burning more aggressively, UL is conducting a groundbreaking study to determine how recent changes in household furnishings have changed the way fires behave in homes and whether those changes alter the way smoke alarms respond.

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