Little Rock, Ark. (March 6, 2015) – Smoke alarms are critical to home fire safety because they alert residents of fire hazards in the early stages. Even more important, smoke alarms provide alerts when residents are most vulnerable - when they are asleep at night. According to the United States Fire Administration, in 2011 there were 3,005 civilian fatalities that occurred in homes and a large majority of those occurred in single-family residences. Most home fire victims in the nation died in homes without a working smoke alarm. Those smoke alarms were not working, usually because batteries were dead, disconnected or missing.

“The presence of a working smoke alarm doubles your chances of surviving a fire,” said Little Rock Fire Department Chief Gregory Summers. “Checking a smoke alarm when clocks are changed will give our residents an added measure of protection.”