The sounds of fire safety are the focus of this year’s Fire Prevention Week.
It runs from October 3rd to 9th.
Sarah Shoemaker is the Fire Chief of Nolalu and the public education coordinator for Zone One, a group of 14 local fire departments that are promoting this year’s awareness campaign.
She explains they want you to be familiar with the sounds your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms make.
“So if you hear a beeping sound, that’s an emergency, that’s definitely a ‘get out of the house now, call 911 from the outside,’ because there’s something going on in your house,” she explains. “If you hear a chirping sound coming from your smoke alarm, that’s an urgent [sound].”
A chirp usually indicates you need to change the alarm’s battery, or it’s reached its expiry date and must be replaced.
Shoemaker says it’s crucial to recognize the sound of an emergency alarm, because in the event of a fire, you have as little as three minutes to leave safely due to how quickly modern home materials burn.
Zone One fire chiefs are also reminding you to test your alarms this week to make sure you know they still work, and what they sound like.
