Celebrating 100 Years of Safety: National Fire Prevention Week (FPW) 2022

FPW 2022 "Fire Won't Wait. Plan Your Escape." is October 9-15

Consider this scenario: It’s 2 o’clock in the morning. You and your family are fast asleep when you awaken to the smoke alarm sounding and the smell of smoke. What do you do? If you and your family don’t have a plan in place, it could jeopardize your safety, or even prove deadly.

According to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) data, home — the place people feel safest from fire — is actually where they are at greatest risk, with three-quarters (74 percent) of all U.S. fire deaths occurring in homes. When a home fire does occur, it’s more likely to be serious; people today are actually more likely to die in a home fire today than they were in 1980. In a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds. That’s why escape planning is so critical in a fire situation. It ensures that everyone in the household knows how to use that small window of time wisely.

Fire safety is one home disaster that we all should be prepared for. Residential fires can happen regardless of climate or weather, type of structure, or whether you own or rent. Their causes can be myriad, and their effects can be devastating. Which is why for the last 100 years, the folks at the NFPA have been using the first full week in October to mark Fire Prevention Week (FPW). The nation's longest-running public health campaign, FPW strives to educate people, young and old, about home fire prevention and safety. This year's theme is: “Fire Won't Wait. Plan Your Escape.” The goal of the 2022’s campaign is to better educate the public about the critical importance of developing a home escape plan and practicing it.

Says Lorraine Carli, Vice President of the NFPA Outreach and Advocacy division, “This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign capitalizes on a milestone anniversary, celebrating all we’ve accomplished in reducing the public’s risk to fire over the past hundred years, [while at] the same time, the theme, ‘Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape,’ addresses challenges that remain.”

Be Safe and Smart: Additional Tips

According to NFPA statistics, in 2017 U.S. fire departments responded to 357,000 home structure fires. These fires caused 2,630 fire deaths and 10,600 fire injuries. On average, seven people died in a fire in a home per day during 2012 to 2016. In fact, the majority of U.S. fire deaths (four out of five) occur at home each year, and the fire death rate (per 1000 home fires reported to the fire department) was 10 percent higher in 2016 than in 1980. 

“These numbers show that home fires continue to pose a significant threat to safety,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. “In a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Escape planning and practice can help you make the most of the time you have, giving everyone enough time to get out.”

A fire at home can start for many reasons—candles, cooking, electrical issues, heating, and smoking materials—to name a few. Because the causes are myriad, practicing fire prevention can keep you and your family safe. Fire Prevention Week is the perfect time to brush up on prevention tactics and prepare your family in case disaster strikes. 

Here are a few additional tips to consider during this very important home safety week—and all year long.

5 First and Foremosts

1. First and foremost, install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of your home – including the basement. Three out of five home fire fatalities happen in homes with no or non-working smoke alarms.

2. Next, identify potential fire hazards. Do you have frayed or exposed electrical wires? Are space heaters located near curtains or other flammable materials? Fix what you can and know where other potential dangers lie.

3. Install fire safety windows and doors. If that is not an option, use fire retardant products to fire proof windows and doors. This slows down the fire and helps prevent it from spreading.

4. Plan and practice an escape route. Determine at least two ways to escape from your home and select a location outside for everyone to meet. Also, plan what to do with family pets and know who to call for emergency assistance.

5. Many children are not aware of potential fire hazards. Check out these fire prevention tips for kids to ensure proper fire safety and prevention is practiced by the entire family.

Remember the 3 L's

🔥“LOOK” for places fire could start. Take a good look around your home. Identify potential fire hazards and take care of them.

🔥 “LISTEN” for the sound of the smoke alarm. You could have only minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. Go to your outside meeting place, which should be a safe distance from the home and where everyone should know to meet.

🔥“LEARN” two ways out of every room and make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily and are free of clutter.

The Sounds of Safety

One of the key components in home safety--and the trigger for those fire safety plans you've been developing, is your alarm system. That system is made up of both your carbon monoxide (CO) detector, as well as your smoke detector. 

What's the difference between the two alarms? Do you really need both? The answer is, in short, yes. 

Remember--once a fire starts, you may have very little time to get yourself and your family out. Because smoke detectors can sense smoke long before we can, they are essential to alerting us to danger. They should be placed in every bedroom, outside of the sleeping areas (like a hallway), and on each level (including the basement). Smoke alarms should not be placed in your kitchen or bathroom (where they could be erroneously triggered).

When looking for a smoke detector, you can choose one that has replaceable batteries you swap out every year, or a 10-year unit that lasts for a decade, and then needs to be replaced. Both provide protection, provided you choose an alarm that is listed with a testing laboratory, meaning it has met certain standards for protection.

Carbon monoxide detectors are not looking for smoke, but rather CO--an odorless, colorless gas that displaces oxygen in your body and brain. Because it is not something we can detect with our own senses, CO can render you unconscious before you even realize something is wrong. Unconscious, and without oxygen, you are at risk of death from carbon monoxide poisoning in a short time. CO alarms throughout the home and garage detect the presence of this gas and alert you so you can get out, call 9-1-1, and let the professionals check your home.

As you would with a smoke alarm, be sure to choose a CO detectors that is listed with a testing laboratory. Also make sure to select a unit with a battery backup if it is an outlet or hardwired unit.

According to the NFPA, some of the best protection comes if you use combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms that are interconnected throughout the home. These can be installed by a qualified electrician, so that when one sounds, they all sound. This ensures you can hear the alarm no matter where in your home the alarm originates.

Knowing what the different alarms mean, and what actions you should take when you hear an alarm can help keep you and your family safe.  

“It’s important to learn the different sounds of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. What is a 'beep'; what is a 'chirp'? What do the sounds mean? When an alarm makes noise—a beeping sound or a chirping sound—action is needed.” says Carli. 

But what action do you need to take for which sounds? Do you know what to do and when? “Make sure everyone in the home understands the sounds of the alarms and knows how to respond," says Carli. "Knowing the difference [in the sounds] can save you, your home, and your family," she continues. "To learn the sounds of your specific smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, check the manufacturer’s instructions that came in the box, or search the brand and model online.”

You may ask, “What if someone in my home is deaf or hard of hearing? How will they know if an alarm is sounding?” For deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, there are smoke alarms and alert devices that include other notifications, such as strobe lights that flash to alert people when the smoke alarm sounds, says the NFPA. Pillow or bed shakers designed to work with your smoke alarm also can be purchased and installed. The NFPA has a great resource sheet to learn more about fire safety for the deaf and hard of hearing.

The NFPA and FPW offer these additional tips for detector maintenance and interpretation: 

🔥  A continuous set of three loud beeps—beep, beep, beep—means smoke or fire. Get out, call 9-1-1, and stay out.

🔥  A single chirp every 30 or 60 seconds means the battery is low and must be changed.

🔥  All smoke alarms must be replaced after 10 years.

🔥  Chirping that continues after the battery has been replaced means the alarm is at the end of its life and the unit must be replaced.

🔥  Make sure your smoke and CO alarms meet the needs of all your family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.

The National Fire Protection Association is the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week, which is held every year the week of October 9 (the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire). To learn more about this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, "Fire Won't Wait. Plan Your Escape.", and find other home fire safety tips, visit firepreventionweek.org.   _{Downloads, graphics, and statistics courtesy of and press release content reproduced from NFPA’s website, www.nfpa.org/publiceducation © NFPA.}