Fire Prevention Week 2008

With someone's home burning someplace in the U.S. about every 80 seconds, the theme for Fire Prevention Week 2008 is "Prevent Home Fires". Beginning Saturday, Fire Prevention Week recalls the Great Chicago Fire that began the evening of October 8, 1871 and burned three days, costing 250 lives and destroying 17,400 buildings. This is the week for all of us to remember the history and take stock of fire safety in our homes, schools and work sites.
About 80 years ago, approximately 15,000 Americans lost their lives to fire every year. Now, with a larger population, annual fire fatalities number about 2,800. Most of these people died in the building they considered the safest: their own home.

The invention of two types of home smoke detectors (ionization and photoelectric) in the 1970s accounts for much of the reduction in home fire deaths in the U.S. in recent years. Unfortunately, many people fail to keep their detectors in working order: they don't replace them at least every 10 years or they have disconnected or dead batteries. The National Fire Protection Association estimates that 65% of residential fire deaths happen in homes without working detectors.

We now know that every home needs both kinds of smoke detector technology: IONIZATION for quick, flaming fire types and PHOTOELECTRIC for slow burning, smoldering types of fire. Currently, most homes have the ionization type because they are easier to find in most stores and they run a few dollars cheaper than photoelectric. Ionization detectors are more prone to false, nuisance alarms. While they have saved thousands of lives over the years, and they respond seconds quicker in a fast-burning fire, they are not as reliable in a smoldering fire as photoelectric detectors.

An individual tragedy is often our wake-up call for changing firesafety notions and equipment. Just before Christmas 2005, five members of a Barre VT family died in a fire that started with cigarette ashes smoldering on a couch. The hardwired ionization detectors never sounded an alarm. The Barre Fire Department, overwhelmed by the loss of a mother and four children, researched the effectiveness of ionization and photoelectric detectors in live burns. They have been instrumental in bringing this concern to the attention of our nation within the past year. Spokane Fire Department conducted similar tests this past year and found that ionization detectors sounded the alarm in smoldering fires many minutes after the photoelectric ones. In some cases, they did not sound at all.

Fire Prevention Week is a good time to check on the type and condition of your smoke detectors. Look for the word IONIZATION or PHOTOELECTRIC in fine print on the back of the detector as well as for the date of manufacture. Smoke detectors have a 3% failure rate per year and they need to be replaced at least every 10 years, whether they are hardwired into the electricity or simple battery-operated units. If your ionization detectors are not more than 7 years old, purchase a photoelectric detector (about $17) to add to your protection on each level of the home. You may also choose a dual sensor (ionization and photoelectric) battery-operated detector for about $23. If you have all ionization hardwired detectors in your home, please contact your electrician and ask for a change to photoelectric detector heads for at least some of the locations as soon as possible.

If you have additional questions, please check the Internet at www.wthr.com/global/Story.asp?s=6552929 or call Spokane Fire Department at 625-7058.