Editor, The Spotlight;
Location matters when it comes to your smoke alarm. That’s the message behind this year’s Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 4-10) campaign, “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!”
Town of Colonie Emergency Services is joining forces with the non-profit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) during Fire Prevention Week to remind local residents about the importance of having working smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement.
According to the latest NFPA research, working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire in half. Meanwhile, three out of five fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
Local residents are reminded to:
• 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.
• If the smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside. Go to your outside meeting place.
• Call the fire department from outside the home.
During Fire Prevention Week, the Town of Colonie’s 12 fire departments — which include Boght, Colonie Village, Fuller Road, Latham, Maplewood, Menands, Midway, Schuyler Heights, Shaker Road, Stanford Heights, Verdoy and West Albany — will host various activities to promote “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!” Through these educational, family-oriented activities, residents can learn more about the importance of having a working smoke alarm in every bedroom.
To find out more about Fire Prevention Week programs and activities, contact your local fire department. To learn more about smoke alarms and “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm,” visit NFPA’s Web site at www.firepreventionweek.org and www.sparky.org/fpw.
Gerald E. Paris, Jr.
1st. Deputy Fire Coordinator
Town of Colonie Emergency Services
