NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Do you “hear the beep where you sleep”?
That’s the slogan for this year’s Fire Prevention Week, and state firefighters are stressing the importance that you have a working smoke alarm in each sleeping area and on every floor of the house.
“In a fire, every second counts,” said Julie Mix McPeak, the state fire marshal and Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance commissioner. “Home smoke alarms can alert people to a fire before it spreads, giving everyone enough time to get out.”
McPeak said half of the deaths caused by home fires happen from fires that occur between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., when people are likely to be sleeping. Three of five fire deaths happen in homes without a working smoke alarm, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
The Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office and its partners have distributed more than 88,000 free smoke alarms, saving the lives of 106 Tennesseans.
And fire officials aren’t stopping there. The SFMO will be working with local fire departments on Oct. 10 to try to install 1,000 smoke alarms in a day. The Tennessee Region of the American Red Cross will also be installing smoke alarms in Tennessee cities, including Memphis, on Oct. 10.
Fire Prevention Week runs from Oct. 4-10.
