Information concerning fire safety was provided to me via Kidde. Though I received compensation in the form of a gift card and product, all opinions are my own.
Living in a condominium building, fire safety is a topic always on my mind. I take many precautions in my household to prevent fires, but in living in such proximity to others, I worry if they do the same…
As of July 1, 2013, Maryland has a new smoke alarm law and you be affected!
Do you…
- Live in a home that uses battery-powered smoke alarms?
- Ever forget to replace the batteries in your smoke alarm?
- Have smoke alarms installed only in hallways and not in every bedroom?
- Know the last time you replaced your smoke alarm? Was it more than 10 years ago?
- Plan to renovate your home or move to a new residence?
If you answered YES to any of these questions, you are affected! Maryland law now requires homeowners to replace existing battery-operated smoke alarms with ones containing a 10-year sealed battery. The upside is that these long-life alarms will provide continuous power for a decade, meaning you never have to remember to replace batteries.
Home Fire Safety Tips
Did you know that two-thirds of all home fire deaths in America occur in homes with either no smoke alarm or no working alarm, mainly due to missing or disconnected batteries? Check out this infographic to learn more facts about how deadly and serious fire issues are here in Maryland:
Now that you understand what an important issue fire safety is, let’s move onto some tips!
- Make sure you have a WORKING smoke alarm
- Make sure your home has at least one fire extinguisher unit
- Have a family escape plan in place, practice “Stop, Drop, and Roll”
- Never leave a burning candle unattended
- Clean the lint trap after every use of the dryer
- Always replace all worn, old or damaged appliance cords immediately
- Do not burn trash, paper, or green wood in your home’s fireplace
- Keep matches and lighters far out of the reach of children
- Never overload an outlet
The Benefits
So now you see why there is a need for you to switch to a smoke alarm with sealed in batteries. Let’s go over a few of the benefits:
- Proven to provide protection for 10 years, homeowners no longer have to remember to replace batteries or be hassled by low battery chirps.
- Sealing the batteries into the unit’s housing and circuitry makes these alarms tamper resistant.
- After 10 years, the alarm will sound an end-of-life warning, letting the owner know it’s time to replace the alarm.
Kidde Worry Free Smoke Alarms
Kidde Worry Free Smoke Alarms offers all the benefits listed above to millions of Americans who protect their homes with smoke alarms. The alarms are powered by sealed, long-life lithium batteries for 10 years (the life of the alarm), meaning they are always on. Each of the four alarms includes features designed to address location-specific safety needs such as a light in the hallway for egress and innovative smart sensing technology for kitchens to minimize nuisance alarms caused by cooking.
So why choose Worry Free Smoke Alarms?
- It’s Always On: 24 hr/day, 7 day/week protection from smoke and fire
- Decade of protection: sealed lithium battery provides 10 years of continuous power
- Maintenance-free, hassle-free: never replace a battery during the alarm’s operating life and no need to worry about the batteries being removed
- Goodbye late night low battery chirps: an end-of-life chirp tells you when it’s time to replace the alarm
- Location-based attributes make it simple to select the right alarm for the right location in your home
- Money savings: no batteries to buy and replace every six months, save up to $40 over the life of the alarm
- Quick and easy installation: simply twist the alarm onto the mounting bracket and it activates
Buy It: The Kidde Worry Free Smoke Alarms are available at home improvement retailers such as the Home Depot. The retail values range from $25 to $50.
Win It: One lucky reader will win a Kidde Worry Free Smoke alarm of their very own! Simply fill out the easy Rafflecopter form below (may take a moment to load). This giveaway ends on August 14, at 11:59 PM EST, and is open to resident of the US only, ages 18+. Once a winner is drawn via Rafflecopter, I will contact the winner through email. They will then have 48 hours to respond. If there is no response, I will draw a new winner. Please add mdmommareviews at gmail dot com to ensure the email does not end up in your SPAM folder. Good luck!
Talk to your children about fire safety and have an escape plan
We have a fire escape plan that is drawn out and posted in our kids rooms and periodically do drills.
Make sure you actually have batteries in your smoke detectors. When we bought our house (which had passed inspection), none of the detectors had batteries in them.
My daughter is standing next to me so I decided to test her and ask her what she thinks a good fire safety tip is. She said to make sure not to leave candles burning unattended. :)
My Tip Is To Prepare A Fire Escape Plan With The Family And Practice It At Least Once A Month.
Have a plan. If your home were to catch fire, have a plan with everyone in your home of what you would do.
We have reflective decals on the bottom of our kid’s doors that we got from the fire department, so that if there is a fire, the firefighters know what rooms have kids.
Never leave candles burning and leave the home or go to bed
Don’t use plugged in laptops during lightning/thunderstorms ;)
We have rope ladders in each room in case the kids have to escape through the windows.
Always double check to see if you cut off your curling iron or other hair appliances before you leave the house. Some of them turn off automatically, but can you be sure they will always do that?
have a family plan to escape plan and to review it and practice
We change out batteries every time we reset clocks!
Along with an escape plan, make sure that your kids know where to go (neighbor, etc.) if they get out of the house and cannot find you.
Have a fire safety plan and practice it
Always have multiple escape routes!