Solobay sounds the alarm on smoke alarms

House adopts his resolution designating Fire Prevention week and month in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG, Sept. 30 – The state House of Representatives unanimously adopted Rep. Tim Solobay’s resolution (H.R. 967) designating October 2010 as “Pennsylvania Fire Prevention Month” and Oct. 3 through 9, 2010 as “Fire Prevention Week” in Pennsylvania.
 
“Each year in the United States, 3,000 people die in home fires,” said Solobay, D-Washington. “This resolution will remind Pennsylvanians to follow all safety measures to prevent fires, including installing smoke alarms and checking their batteries to make sure they are in working order.”
 
The National Fire Protection Association picked “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With” as the theme for the 2010 National Fire Prevention Week to educate the public about the importance of having working smoke alarms in their homes.
 
“According to a 2008 telephone survey, 96 percent of homes in the U.S. have at least one smoke alarm,” Solobay said. “Smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a reported fire in half. I’d like to see 100 percent of homes having smoke alarms.”
 
According to an NFPA survey, in 2003-2006:
 
Roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths were in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms;
In 23 percent of the home fire deaths, smoke alarms were present but did not sound;
In more than half of the reported home fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate even though the fire was large enough, batteries were missing or the device was disconnected.
 
Smoke alarm batteries should be replaced twice a year, in the fall and in the spring, and smoke alarms themselves should be replaced every 10 years.
 
Solobay is also the sponsor of H.B. 1445 that would require carbon monoxide alarms in all new construction and rental properties that have fossil-fuel heating systems or attached garages. Pennsylvania leads the nation in the number of carbon monoxide deaths.
 
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