NEW ORLEANS – Fire Prevention Week runs from Sunday, October 4 through Saturday, October 10, 2015, and the New Orleans Fire Department (NOFD) has joined forces with the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to remind local residents to “Hear the Beep, Where You Sleep.”
During this year's fire safety campaign, the NOFD will be spreading the word about the importance of working smoke alarms throughout the home, but most importantly in the bedroom—and teaching local residents how to test smoke alarms monthly and replace non-working or outdated smoke alarms.
According to the latest NFPA research, working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire in half. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign includes the following smoke alarm messages:
• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
• Interconnect all smoke alarms throughout the home. This way, when one sounds, they all do.
• Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.
• Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they don’t respond properly.
• Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm and understands what to do when they hear it.
For years now the New Orleans Fire Department has been conducting its “Save Lives, Install Dat” Smoke Alarm Installation Program. Whereas uniformed, on-duty NOFD personnel will come out to your home, church or non-profit organization assess your fire safety needs and install 10 year Lithium Battery Smoke Alarms (free of charge) or replace 9-volt batteries in hard-wired smoke detector systems for any Orleans Parish Resident in need. New Orleans Fire Department Superintendent Timothy McConnell often states that during his “entire career in the fire service, I have never experienced a fire related fatality where a working smoke alarm was present.”
Earlier this year, the NOFD teamed up with the City Office of Performance Accountability for a new initiative that uses data analytics to reduce the number of fatalities in New Orleans caused by structure fires. The initiative identifies neighborhoods in New Orleans that are least likely to have smoke alarms, and are most likely to experience a fire fatality. The NOFD currently uses the predictive model to conduct a targeted, risk-informed, door-to-door smoke alarm outreach campaign, prioritizing homes in these target neighborhoods for installation of free smoke alarms. Through this initiative, the NOFD will visit 210,000 homes to install smoke alarms.
The New Orleans Fire Department will be hosting a Fire Safety Booth in the 1st floor lobby area of City Hall on Tuesday and Thursday during Fire Prevention Week to promote “Hear the Beep, Where You Sleep” and our “Save Lives, Install Dat” Smoke Alarm Program. Citizens can pick up fire safety information or sign up to have 10 year Lithium Battery Smoke Alarms installed or have 9-volt batteries replace in hard-wired smoke alarm systems through our “Save Lives, Install Dat” Smoke Alarm Program.
Additionally, the NOFD conducts annual commercial occupancy fire inspections year round, which is the industry standard for maximum safety and risk reduction. These inspections enable the department to identify hazards and structural deficiencies that jeopardize the safety of our citizens, visitors and firefighters. Furthermore, all commercial properties should be inspected annually to receive the best fire protection class rating from the Property Insurance Association of Louisiana (PIAL). This classification translates into better insurance rates for the community.
There is a direct cost to our community associated with fires that is reflected in structural and personal property loss; but there is also a significant effect of indirect costs that are reflected in firefighter injuries, reduced property values, tax base, community blight and increased property insurance rates. The ultimate goal is to maximize the NOFD’s efforts to fulfill its mission “to reduce the loss of life and property.”
The NOFD inspection program helps to meet this goal and is instrumental in saving lives while serving as a prudent method of keeping businesses operating. It is an effective tool that serves to assure the health, welfare, prosperity, and life safety of the entire city.
