New strength to fight the right fight

On the heels of the NFFF Summit on Firefighter Life Safety in St. Louis, where the 16 initiatives to save lives for firefighters were revisited, and on the threshold of US Fire Service Summit on Fire Prevention and Suppression in Emmitsburg, Maryland, we are entering Fire Prevention Week 2024 (October 6-12) with renewed vigor. The theme of this year's Fire Prevention Week – “Smoke detectors: let them work for you!” – provides an opportunity to re-engage our communities and reinforce our fire safety messages.

Not your grandfather's smoke detector

We tend to think that smoke detectors became mainstream in the 1970s. But smoke detectors have actually been around since the 1890s, with the The first smoke/heat detector was patented in 1902At that time, the probability of a person dying in a fire in a house or apartment was 1 in 10. After the introduction of smoke detectors and later sprinkler systems in residential buildings, the probability of a person dying in a house fire dropped to about 1 in 100.

Today's smoke alarms come with sealed lithium batteries with a 10-year lifespan, eliminating the need to replace batteries every 6 months when you change your clocks. Instead, the entire unit is replaced every 10 years. However, it is important that fire departments continue to recognize the “Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery” campaign, as some residents still have smoke alarms that use 9V batteries.

The newer smoke alarms offer a number of features to improve fire safety. There are devices with lights and vibrations for the hearing impaired and even devices that allow parents to record their voice to sound the alarm instead of a blaring alarm. Despite the huge advances in early warning, we know statistically that an average of eight people die in house fires today.

What can we do?

The NFPA recommends three simple actions that all residents should take now:

1. Install smoke detectors in every bedroom, outside any separate sleeping area (e.g. in the hallway), and on every floor (including the basement) of the house.
2. Test the smoke detectors once a month by pressing the test button.
3. Replace all smoke detectors if they are 10 years old or if they no longer respond when tested.

Fire departments must sow and water the seeds of increased safety around the use of smoke detectors in the community. For years, we have participated in school assemblies educating students on the importance of these devices. We must renew these in-person education efforts and introduce video messages on our social media platforms to further spread the message to children and adults. These efforts include not only smoke detector installation and maintenance, but also escape plans and modern community risk reduction (CRR) strategies for the home.

Lessons from the tragedy

I am reminded of the fire in Glenarden, Maryland on February 21, 2013, which claimed four lives. The Price family suffered terribly that day, as a father and three children died in the fire. The mother and her 8-year-old daughter, Tamia, were able to escape the fire before firefighters arrived on the scene.

At the hospital, Tamia told fire investigators that as the fire blocked her way out of the house, she remembered two things firefighters had said at a school assembly for Fire Prevention Week:

1. Have a second way out of the house
2. Close the door to your room

Tamia pulled her mother into an adjoining room, closed the door and went to the window to get out, where neighbors helped. Tamia and her mother survived the fire thanks to firefighters like you who took time out for training during Fire Prevention Week.

It was devastating for all of us when, during our investigation, we learned that a battery-less smoke detector was found on the refrigerator. We could only assume that the low battery beep or the usual cooking smoke had caused the residents to disable the smoke detector. At this point, we can only imagine what a difference it would have made if there had been at least one working smoke detector in the house. Statistically, we know that the alarm would have likely given the entire family a much better chance of survival.

| Read more: The tragedy confirms that fire safety messages work

Embrace the culture

I urge every firefighter to adopt the CRR culture. It is important that we recognize that this is not just about smoke detectors, but also about escape planning, residential sprinkler systems, and countless other risk reduction topics – electricity use, candles, cooking and gas supply, outdoor areas, creating defensible areas, etc.

When it comes to sprinkler systems, the NFPA reports that installing sprinklers in homes can reduce your risk of dying in a fire by 85%. Think about that for a moment. By simply installing sprinklers, we could go from one fire death every 3 hours to one every 24 hours. That would equate to an annual reduction in fire deaths of about 2,550 people! We need to keep the pressure on legislators to implement this simple life-saving measure.

In our first 25 years in Prince George's County, Maryland (the first county in the U.S. to require sprinklers in new residential construction in 1992), we were able to reduce the number of fire deaths by 100% in residential buildings where sprinklers were installed in residential buildings and were properly functioning and maintained. Despite this success, only Maryland, Washington DC, and California have mandated statewide sprinkler laws. Other areas have over 400 local sprinkler codes but no statewide effort. I know all too well how sprinkler installation is attacked from numerous quarters (including some within our own ranks). My own contractor not only refused to offer sprinklers, but even forbade me from running pipes in the attic before I took over the building. I installed sprinklers after we moved in. To me, fighting against sprinklers is truly criminal, especially when some of our own members are involved.

Fight the Right battle

The Maryland Fire Service must fight back against attempts to weaken sprinkler legislation every legislative session. When I lived and worked there, I attended the annual visits to the statehouses and hearings to defend and strengthen sprinkler legislation. Along with our school visits and other CRR strategies, THIS is the fight we must continue today.

Don't your family members, your neighbors, and your community deserve the protection that smoke alarms and sprinkler systems provide? Of course they do! Please use this opportunity to mobilize your teams to visit schools, attend community meetings, and engage with the media. Let's make sure our communities know that we want smoke alarms to work for them!

Learn more: History of smoke detectors