October 5, 2014- Working smoke alarms can make a life-saving difference in a fire. That’s the message behind this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives: Test Yours Every Month!”

CAL FIRE is joining forces with firefighters and safety advocates nationwide during Fire Prevention Week, October 5-11, to remind California residents and visitors about the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home and testing them monthly.

According to the latest national research, working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire in half. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

“Smoke alarms save lives,” said California State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover. “Having more than one properly placed smoke alarm can significantly increase your chance of surviving a fire. Home smoke alarms can alert people to a fire before it spreads, giving everyone enough time to get out. Be sure to test your smoke alarms regularly.”

CAL FIRE wants to take this opportunity to stress the importance of having smoke alarms and encourage everyone to take the necessary steps required to update and maintain their home smoke alarm protection. Smoke alarms are one of the best and least expensive safety devices you can buy and install to protect yourself, your family and your home. CAL FIRE knows that in the event of a home fire, properly installed and maintained smoke alarms could save your own life and those of your loved ones by providing time to escape.

This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign includes the following smoke alarm messages:

Here are several cooking safety tips that will help keep your family safe:

• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement. 
• Interconnect all smoke alarms throughout the home. This way, when one sounds, they all do. 
• Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button. 
• Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they don’t respond properly.
• Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm and understands what to do when they hear it.