Woodbridge firefighters fan out for smoke alarm education

Members of O.W.L. V.F.D and the Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue (DFR) visited over 40 homes on Saturday to educate the community on the importance of smoke detectors.

Firefighters fanned out in the River Ridge community just off Route 1 in Woodbridge to test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and change batteries.

Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Volunteer Fire Department spent much of the day reminding residents that one easy step can help save their lives and the lives of those around them. They urged changing the batteries in the smoke alarms twice a year, as well as carbon monoxide detectors. They also said test the alarms to make sure they work properly and to remind friends, family, neighbors and fellow community members to do the same.

Approximately every three hours a home fire death occurs somewhere in the nation and nearly 60 percent of those occur in homes without working smoke alarms, according to the volunteer fire department.

Non-working smoke alarms rob residents of the protective benefits home fire safety devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of non-working smoke alarms: worn or missing batteries.

“Almost sixty percent of fire fatalities occur in homes without working smoke alarms. It’s a tragic statistic that could be reduced by the simple habit of regularly testing your alarms,” says OWL VFD Chief Rick Michael.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs recommends that smoke alarms in homes should be replaced every ten years and having both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms are best to alert people to all types of home fires.