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Smoke alarm Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Jeffrey Witte of the Shreveport Fire Department says it isn't often that smoke alarms have to sound a real alarm in a residence, but they can be life savers if the time comes. "Having a working smoke alarm increases your chance of survival by about 60 percent," Witte said. In a recent house fire in the Martin Luther King neighborhood of Shreveport, four residents died in a house that investigators said didn't have a working smoke detector, and the SFD can help residents prevent that from happening.
"It's such a simple thing to obtain that can go a long way in saving your life," Witte said Wednesday. "It's a very cost-efficient way to save your life." For those unable to buy a smoke alarm, there are options.
Residents can call the Shreveport Fire Department at 318-673-6740 or visit www.shreveportfire.org .
Many other departments in Caddo and Bossier parishes can provide the alarms to their citizens, as well. The units are provided through the state fire marshal's office, funded by a national grant, but they must be installed by department personnel. "If we don't, two things can happen.
One, they don't get put up. People bring them home, put them on the kitchen counter and forget about them," Witte said, "or, they put them up in the wrong location. We've had folks put them up right next to the stove.
Then they go off all the time, and people end up taking them down." The list of people who qualify for a free alarm from SFD is "pretty extensive, and we cover all walks of life," Witte said, though the department prioritizes people such as senior citizens, people on government assistance or a fixed income. "We'll try to get to those folks first, but our goal is to get to everybody on the list.
" For those installing their own, alarms should be inside or right outside bedrooms, though additional ones can be in other areas as well. "Every sleeping area needs a smoke alarm. All levels need a smoke alarm," Witte said.
"The most benefit you get out of the smoke alarm is when you're asleep at night. That's the sound to wake you up to get you out of the house." And while modern smoke alarms often have 10-year batteries sealed inside, many are older models that require nine-volt batteries, even if just as a backup.
Witte said standard practice is to change them every time the clock changes, that is, every switch from standard time to daylight saving time, and vice versa. "Either way, still test them once a month to make sure they work," Witte said. Buttons are typically labeled on the unit.
"When you push it, it should make an audible noise." Because sound doesn't help everyone, smoke alarms that use strobe lights rather than a noise can be purchased at many hardware stores for people with hearing issues. The brightness of the lights makes them so invasive that — according to information from the Deaf Action Center of Shreveport — they give deaf people their best chance to be awakened in a fire.
Those needing the strobe version but unable to afford them can contact New Horizons Independent Living on North Market. Regardless of the type, Witte pointed out alarms are just the first step to staying safe in a fire. "You still have to know what to do when the smoke alarm sounds," he said.
"You still have to have two accessible routes to get out of your home. Windows and doors have to be accessible, not blocked from the inside or the outside. Have a way to contact 911, and then know where to meet once you're outside.
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