The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) announced “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety” as the theme of this 2021’s Fire Prevention Week.
This year, Fire Prevention Week is recognized from October 3 through 9 and seeks to better educate the public about the sounds of smoke alarms, what they mean, and how to respond to them. According to an NFPA report, working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a fire by more than half. The same report, entitled “Smoke Alarms in the U.S.,” stated 41% of household fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarm or 16% in homes with alarms that failed to activate.
“Smoke alarms have played a leading role in reducing fire death rates over the past 40 years, but we still have more work to do in maximizing their effectiveness,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA vice president of outreach and advocacy.