SPRINGFIELD – The Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM) reminds Illinoisans to test, inspect, and replace broken or expired smoke/CO alarms in their homes with new 10-year sealed battery alarms while they change the clocks this weekend as Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday.
“Early warnings from smoke alarms are crucial, as on average, a person has less than three minutes to escape a home fire today,” said Illinois State Fire Marshal James A. Rivera. “Taking just a few minutes each month to test, inspect, and replace broken or expired alarms is simple, but working smoke alarms save lives. It’s also important to review and practice your fire escape plan, identify two ways out of every room, and designate a meeting place outside the home.”
The time change serves as a bi-annual reminder to test all smoke and CO alarms in your home. If you find an alarm that is not working or is expired, replace the alarm immediately with a new 10-year sealed battery alarm. Review your fire-escape plan with your family and hold a drill to practice your plan.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports almost three out of every five home fire deaths in the U.S. resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or non-working smoke alarms. More than one-third (38 percent) of home fire deaths result from fires in which no smoke alarms are present. When working smoke alarms are present in your home, the risk of dying in a home fire is cut by 60 percent.
According to statistics from the Be Alarmed! Smoke Alarm Installation Program, since 2018, 74% of pre-existing smoke alarms in homes that received new 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms from the Be Alarmed! Program were non-functional or were expired (14,034 of 19,036 pre-existing smoke alarms).
“We are excited to report our first direct save from our Be Alarmed! Smoke Alarm Installation Program in Greenville on February 16,” said Philip Zaleski, Executive Director of Camp I Am Me by the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance. “This success highlights the hard work and dedication of the 320 departments across 61 Illinois counties, which continue to make a significant impact on fire safety. I encourage other departments to join us in our efforts to help save lives throughout the state.”
Thanks to the “Be Alarmed!” program, in 2024, over 2800 Illinois homes and 5,252 residents are now protected by new smoke alarms and were educated about the importance of having a fire safety plan. Over 40,000 smoke alarms worth nearly $1 million dollars of life saving fire safety devices have been distributed to Illinois fire departments since 2018 when the Be Alarmed! Smoke Alarm Installation Program began!
“Be Alarmed!” is a fire safety education and smoke alarm installation program administered cooperatively between Camp I Am Me and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM). “The “Be Alarmed!” program is aimed at creating fire-safe communities.
For more information on the “Be Alarmed!” program, visit https://www.ifsa.org/prevention-resources/smoke-alarm/.
