(Shared from Richard F. Brown, CSP, CFPS, VPP Manager)
"The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) announced "Don't Wait: Check the Date! Replace Smoke Alarms Every 10 Years" as the official theme for this year's Fire Prevention Week campaign, October 9-15, 2016. The focus on smoke alarm replacement comes as the result of a recent survey conducted by NFPA, which showed that only a small percentage of people know how old their smoke alarms are or how often they need to be replaced. According to an NFPA report, in one-fifth (20 percent) of all U.S. homes with smoke alarms, the smoke alarms aren't working; three out of five home fire deaths result from fires in properties without smoke alarms (38 percent) or with no working smoke alarms (21 percent).
NFPA has been the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week since 1922. According to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. Visit www.firepreventionweek.orgfor more safety information.
I wanted to send this to our VPP site contacts early, so you can consider including this as part of your Home Safety program this year. Encourage everyone at your workplace to go home and check the dates of their smoke alarms! It can save lives, and everyone working at a Region II VPP site can participate (full-time employees, part-time employees, temporary workers, and contractors)."
