Install smoke alarms
Smoke alarms can save your life, your family and your home, but only if you maintain them properly and install them in the right places.

Safety experts advise homeowners and renters to install at least one smoke alarm on every floor of their home. Reports from the National Fire Protection Association show that more than 368,000 home fires occurred in the United States in 2000, resulting in 16,975 injuries and $5.5 billion in property damage.

Having working smoke alarms installed on every level of your home dramatically increases your chances of survival. By providing an early warning in the event of a fire, smoke alarms allow you and your family sufficient time to reach safety. Your risk of dying in a home fire is literally cut in half by having a working smoke alarm installed.

Additional Tips
Butler County Fire District # 3 offers some additional tips for purchasing, maintaining and placing smoke alarms:

• When you purchase a smoke alarm, look for the UL Mark on the product as well as the packaging. The UL Mark indicates that UL evaluated representative samples of the smoke alarm for your safety.
• Although one smoke alarm can help save your life, several may be needed to adequately protect your home and your family. Install at least one on every floor of your home including the basement and outside each sleeping area.
• If you sleep with the door closed, install smoke alarms inside the room.
• Because smoke rises, alarms should be mounted high on walls and ceilings.
• Smoke alarms should not be installed near a window, door or forced-air register, where drafts could interfere with their operation.
• To keep smoke alarms in good working order, test them at least once a month. Testing familiarizes you and your family with the life-saving signal that the alarm makes.
• A good cleaning helps eliminate dust that collects on smoke alarms - dust can cause a nuisance alarm. Clean your alarm as instructed in the owner's manual.
• Don't allow anyone to disconnect or "borrow" the batteries from your smoke alarm. A smoke alarm can't work unless it's connected to a power source.
• Remember to change batteries in all smoke alarms twice a year.
• Replace your entire smoke alarm every 10 years, or as the manufacturer recommends.

Fire Escape Plan
In addition to working smoke alarms, Butler County Fire District # 3 also recommends that you develop and practice a fire escape plan with your family. Family members should never return to a burning building for any reason. Property can be replaced but lives can't.