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Fire Safety
When it Comes to Smoke Detector Saftey
- Don't Get Burned!
Each year
almost 3,000 people die in household fires. According
to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), fires
are the second leading cause of unintentional death
in the home. Wherever they strike, fires can potentially
be deadly. Ironically, it is rarely the fire itself
that causes the injury or damage; rather, it is the
smoke from the fire that attacks first. This is why
smoke detectors (and carbon monoxide) detectors are
so important.
It goes without saying that fires can also give rise
to lawsuits, both for injuries and for property damage.
In the past several years I have represented many victims
who suffered catastrophic injuries, including death,
as a result of a fire. Whether we are talking about
your own home, or about a rental property, a few basic
measures can help create a safer environment and insulate
you from liability.
- Purchase
a lot of smoke detectors with alarms loud enough to
wake your entire family.
- Make sure
your smoke detectors have a manufacturer’s warranty
of at least five years.
- The smoke
detectors should have malfunction alarms that beep
or chirp when the batteries are running low.
- Properly
install the smoke detectors. The preferred option
is to have it “hard wired” so that if
the batteries fail, the smoke detectors will still
work. But never install hard wired units without putting
in the batteries for backup.
- Make sure
you have smoke detectors installed on every level
of your home, including the basement. Alarms should
be outside of every sleeping area, and in rooms where
there is an increased chance of a fire (i.e., laundry
room, furnace room, kitchen, etc.)
- Check
the batteries in every detector. The Consumer Product
Safety Commission recommends that every household
set a date twice a year, commonly daylight savings,
to change the smoke detector battery.
- Make sure
your smoke alarms are optimally installed by mounting
the smoke detectors high on walls or on ceilings to
insure that as smoke rises the detector will sound.
Smoke detectors should be installed away from windows,
doors, or air ducts that can interfere with their
operation.
It only takes
one small spark to start a deadly fire. By taking just
a few minutes to check the batteries and setup of your
smoke alarms, you can take a major step toward insuring
your family's safety, as well as your wallet, in the
case of a lawsuit. Poorly installed or maintained smoke
detectors can burn you in more than one way.
Cohen
& Cohen, PC has represented a number of clients
whose lives have been tragically changed by catastrophic
fires. One of our clients, Donald Peterson, lost three
of his family members in a house fire in 2001. Together,
Mr. Peterson and Cohen & Cohen created a website
meant to educate the public on home fire safety.View
Website
For
more information on fire safety, visit one of the following
sites:
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