Gordon Graham
Category: Law Enforcement, Corrections, Fire

Gordon Graham here with Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Today’s Tip is for law enforcement and corrections.

The death rate from fire is more than twice as high in homes without working smoke alarms.

Today’s tip deals with smoke alarms. To my law enforcement and custody friends, don’t tune out! Today’s Tip is for everyone. 

Today’s Tip was inspired by a story from my good friend Chief Billy Goldfeder. He told me about a house fire that claimed the lives of five children. Five dead kids. That sends chills down my spine. As I remember it, the kids were having a sleepover at the time. Did the house have a working smoke alarm? I don’t know for sure. But I do know some facts about smoke alarms.  

Smoke alarms provide an early warning of a fire, giving people extra time to escape. According to the NFPA (the National Fire Protection Association), three of every five home fire deaths are in homes with no working smoke alarms. The death rate from fire is more than twice as high in homes without working smoke alarms. In fires where the smoke alarms were present but not working, almost all of them had missing or disconnected batteries. 

You might be saying, OK, this is a lot of good information. But I already have smoke alarms in my house. And I test them regularly.  

But here’s a thought for you. When your kids go to a neighbor’s, or to a friend or family member’s house, do you check to see whether THEY have functioning smoke alarms? I’ll assume you’ve already met the parents and you’re fine with your child spending time at their house. But how about making sure the home has functioning smoke alarms? Will your friends, neighbors, or relatives be annoyed? Perhaps. Will they think you going a little overboard? Maybe.  

But there isn’t anything more important than helping to ensure the safety of your own children. 

And that’s Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Gordon Graham, signing off.