This post is brought to you by Kidde Fire Safety and I was compensated to write this post. However, all opinions are my own.
Often in our “toot sweet” lives, we do something proactive and then forget about it, assuming whatever proactive thing we have done is done. Once and done.
- We set up our new computer – done.
- Download new software – done.
- Put air in our tires – done.
- Organize our emergency stash – done.
- Install smoke alarms – done.
But, if we don’t follow up with upgrades, repairs and maintenance, suddenly we end up with flat tires or worse!
Depending on what you find in your online search, some sites recommend that you check your smoke alarms once a month (Red Cross), some twice a year when you switch back and forth at daylight savings time (Cal Fire) and some say to test the smoke alarm once a month and replace your batteries twice a year!
When was the last time you did either?
Smoke Alarms: are you Ready? is part of my continuing series on emergency planning and preparedness. This year, I’ve adopted FEMA’s “Resolve to be Ready 2014” campaign title and every month I post something about emergency planning and preparedness. In my efforts to keep me moving forward on this huge, never-ending project that is emergency planning, I take a bite out of the elephant every month and share those steps with readers. If you’ve missed any of the earlier posts in this series, now’s your time to catch-up:
- Resolve to Be Ready 2014
- Blackout: are you Ready?
- Pet Owners: are you Ready?
- Evacuation: are you Ready?
- Alert: are you Ready?
- Water: are you Ready?
As I write this post, 50 fires have been burning in Washington state for a week, with one death and an estimated 150 homes destroyed. So, fire safety is on my mind and my heart goes out to the people of Washington.
And, with fire on my mind and in the news, what better time to check our smoke alarms?
Last November, Kidde Fire Safety rep, Katie, contacted me and asked me to do a post about home safety. I was happy to do it and she even provided a Home Safety Quiz to share with readers. If you missed that post, I encourage you to take a moment and read it.
Anyway, she reached out to me again a few weeks ago and asked me if I knew about the new law that took effect in California on July 1st about smoke alarms? I’m sad to say that even though one of my areas of focus is emergency planning, emergency preparedness, fire safety, home safety that, no, I did not know about the new law that took effect in California on July 1st!!!
This new law requires that any battery-powered smoke or combination (smoke and carbon monoxide) alarm approved for sale by the Office of the California State Fire Marshal be powered by a sealed, 10-year battery.
Katie shared,
“By this time next year, all alarms on store shelves must be powered by sealed, 10-year batteries. This law also will, hopefully, decrease the likelihood that a firefighter would be injured or killed trying to save a life.”
After reading Katie’s email, I immediately went to look for Charlie (the hubs), to ask him about our smoke alarms. Because, while I knew that we had replaced ALL of our smoke alarms last August (less than a year ago), I did not know whether or not they had an alkaline battery. And, Katie’s email piqued my interest:
“Are you aware that these ‘long-life’ alarms will soon be the only type of battery-powered alarms available at stores? Due to a new law, California consumers will begin to see smoke alarms powered by alkaline batteries disappear from store shelves.”
Last August, we were awaken from a dead sleep from the fire alarms going off in our house. You can read that post here: The Fire Drill.
So all of our fire alarms were replaced less than a year ago because of our fire drill! We had to replace them all because they are all hard-wired into our electrical system (each with a battery-powered back-up, should the electricity fail) and one failed. Because they are all hard-wired into our electrical system, when one goes off, they all go off! The sound is deafening…bone-crushing…maddening – but, potentially, life-saving.
But, did they have alkaline batteries?
Charlie said “yes,” they all have alkaline batteries! We have a bit of work to do…
Katie shared some alarming statistics in both her email and the literature she provided that surprised even me:
- 71 deaths reported in residential fires in California, so far this year
- 66% of California homes have battery-powered smoke alarms
- 1/3 of those surveyed, who have lived in their homes for at least a decade, have smoke alarms over 10 years old
- 41% of respondents didn’t think they needed to replace their smoke alarms every 10 years (recommended by the National Fire Protection Association)
- 2/3 of all home fires occur in homes without a smoke alarm or with one that isn’t working
And, if a smoke alarm isn’t working, chances are it’s because the batteries are dead or missing. A long-life battery sealed inside an alarm like Kidde’s Worry-Free line, make it nearly impossible to inactive the smoke alarm, by removing the batteries, thus saving lives.
Tamper-proof, Kidde’s Worry-Free line are powered by long-life lithium batteries for 10 years (the life of the alarm), meaning they are always on 24/7. And, because you’ll never need to replace the batteries over the life of the alarm, consumers save about $40 per smoke alarm over the life of the alarm!
Plus, consumers no longer need to remember to change the batteries every 6 months! No more low battery “chirps” waking you up in the night! Kidde’s Worry-Free line of smoke alarms have an “end-of-life” chirp instead.
Katie’s email continued:
“A recent survey reveals that one in three California homes needs its smoke alarms replaced – leaving millions of Californians at serious risk to be injured or perish in a residential fire. Will you help us spread the word about this new law to your blog readers in California?”
Katie, not only am I happy to spread the word to California readers, I’m happy to share nationwide!
For additional information, check out this literature provided by Katie:
New California Smoke Alarm Law to Help Save Lives Final
Product Sheet_Worry Free Smoke Alarms – final
Readers, sweet peeps, can I ask a favor? Please set up a Pinterest board, name it Emergency Planning or something like that (To Do, For the Home, whatever!) and pin this post to your board. That way, you and others will always have an easy-to-find link to return to read this and my other posts later, should the need arrive.
By sharing on Pinterest (and other social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, StumbleUpon, etc.), you, too, are helping to spread the word and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! {happy face}. The power of social media cannot be underestimated!
Thanks, Katie, for giving me the opportunity to share this important message with readers everywhere.
Until Next Time,
Related Posts:
(other posts about emergency planning and preparedness)
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