Brrrr!! Cold weather is here! We hope everyone is doing their best to stay warm.

I wanted to take a moment to address something important today: cold weather safety.

In a news article CNN published yesterday, a six year old boy sacrificed his life to save six other family members in a fire. The problem was that there were no working smoke alarms in the house! The young boy happened to wake up and smell the fire and helped six other family members out of the house. He went back in to try to get his disabled grandfather who wouldn’t have been able to get out by himself, but neither one of them made it out. The news outlet said that if there had been just one working smoke alarm anywhere in the home, their lives could have been spared.

What a brave and heroic little boy! Even so, this is more than heartbreaking and we hope the families accept our deepest condolences.

It’s easy to forget about little things like smoke detectors, especially if you’re renting your home. But it’s so important not to! Put it in your calendar in your phone, put a sticky note on your computer or send a text message to another family member who lives in the home. Do what you have to help you remember!

If everyone could please take a few minutes to test your smoke detectors and make sure they’re working properly. If you’re unsure how to do that, I found these steps on WikiHow:

1. Alert all members of your household that you are testing the alarm first, unless you would like to use the opportunity for a fire drill.

• If your smoke detector is hardwired to a monitored security system, be sure to notify the security system's company that you are performing a test before you test the alarm. You don't want the fire department showing up at your door!

1. Have someone go to a part of the house or apartment that is as far from the smoke detector as possible when conducting a function test, to determine whether the alarm can be clearly heard at that distance. Remember, it has to be loud enough to awaken the deepest sleeper in the household.
2. Push and hold the test button for a few seconds. The detector should produce a loud noise.
3. To test whether the unit will actually work in a fire, you will need a small spray can of smoke detector test aerosol. You might find this in a well-stocked hardware or home improvement store. If not, you can find it by searching the Internet. They cost only a few dollars, and one small can will last for years. Just spray some of the test material into the detector, and wait 5 to 10 seconds for a response. If the alarm sounds, you know the unit will sound in a fire. If not, you have a non-functioning smoke detector, even if it beeps when you push the button. Try changing the batteries and cleaning the detector to remove any dust that may be blocking the openings, then repeat the test procedure. If that does not get it working, it is useless. Replace it as soon as possible.
4. To turn off the alarm after testing you can hold a small, hand-held vacuum under the detector, suck out the test material, and the alarm will silence. If you only have a full-sized vacuum (the kind with wheels) use the extension tubes to reach up to the alarm and suck the test material out of your smoke detector. Newer smoke detectors may have a silence button that can silence the alarm until the residue leaves the unit. Alternatively, you can just wait for it to turn off by itself, but that wastes battery power, and the sound is very annoying.
5. Test every smoke alarm in your home every month. If you are not willing to do that, do it at least a few times a year. Always test alarms after battery changes to ensure that the device is working.

Tips

• Never decorate any part of a smoke alarm (including the outer cover) with paint, stickers, hanging objects, etc. This can impair function.
• Smoke detectors have a reliable service life of ten years. After ten years, replace the smoke detector with a new one.
• A few times a year, use a vacuum cleaner (hand-held or full-sized with extension tube) to gently remove dust from the slots cut into the unit's cover. Dust in those slots could slow the entry of smoke and interfere with early detection of a fire.
• Wear ear protection when you test the smoke alarm. It's very loud and you will be right next to it when you're testing it.
• Most manufacturers recommend testing the detector weekly. The push button test is sufficient for this. Use the aerosol test gas a few times per year to ensure proper airflow into the detector.
• If you move into a home with existing smoke detectors of an unknown age, look at the manufacturer's label on the back of the device. It might display a date of manufacture and you can use that date to calculate the device's age. If you cannot find a date of manufacture, replace the unit with a new one as soon as possible.

Warnings

• Do not use candles or incense to test a smoke detector. The smoke produced by candles and incense contain waxy or oily particles that can contaminate the sensor and reduce its sensitivity.
• All the test button does is check the BATTERY. It does NOT check the smoke sensor.
• An alarm of any sort is merely a signaling device, it does not make the danger go away. In order to survive, you and your household must take action. Make a fire escape plan, ^[2] discuss it with everyone in your home (including children) and practice it.
• No smoke detector can sound the alarm instantly. The fire will grow and spread before the alarm sounds. Consequently, when an alarm sounds, you MUST get yourself and everyone else in your home out as quickly as possible. In a house fire, the difference between death and survival is often measured in minutes; sometimes seconds.
• Laws in your jurisdiction probably specify how one must dispose of outdated and unreliable smoke detectors. Check the rules that apply in your area, and dispose of old and unreliable detectors properly.
• It is dangerous to test a smoke detector using flame. It is safer to use an aerosol test spray. However:
• Never try to test a smoke alarm with any aerosol spray other than one specifically manufactured for that purpose. Other types of sprays contain material that will stick to the sensor, and make the device less reliable in the future.

I can't stress enough how important this is. And maybe, in an effort to protect our own families we can honor a brave boy who sacrificed his life to save his.

Do your best to stay warm out there y'all!



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