Smoke & Carbon Monoxide (CO) Alarms

Committed to Keeping You Safe - Contact Red Cross

Home fires claim seven lives every day, but having a working smoke alarm can cut the risk of death by half. That's why the American Red Cross is rallying volunteers to install free smoke alarms nationwide. You can sign up for a free fire safety visit, including a FREE smoke alarm installation for your household, by visiting:  https://www.redcross.org/local/washington/about-us/our-work/home-fire-campaign.html

Smoke Alarms

Almost 2,500 people die in home fires every year in the United States. Most of these people live in homes that do not have working smoke alarms. Smoke alarms save lives. Keep your family safe. Put working smoke alarms in your home.

• Smoke is toxic to your health and can kill you.
• Smoke alarms wake you up if you are sleeping.
• Put a smoke alarm inside every bedroom and outside every sleeping area, and make sure you have at least one on every level story of your home.
• Smoke rises, so make sure to install smoke alarms on the ceiling or on the wall.
• Test your smoke alarms every month by pushing the test button. You will hear a loud noise. If you don't hear the noise, you need a new battery or a new alarm. Fix this immediately.
• Make sure to change your smoke alarm batteries every six months or during daylight savings.
• Smoke alarms with long-life batteries will work for up to 10 years. You do not change the battery.
• Smoke alarms do not last forever. Get new smoke alarms every 10 years.

CO Alarms

CO alarms save lives. Keep your family safe. Install CO alarms in your home.

• Never use a charcoal or gas grill in an enclosed space, such as inside your home, garage, or in a tent or camper.
• Don't burn charcoal in your fireplace. A charcoal fire will not create a chimney draft strong enough to push the carbon monoxide to the outside.
• Never use a generator inside your home, garage, carport, basement, or near an outside window, door, or vent. One gas-powered generator can produce 100 times more carbon monoxide than a car's exhaust. Generators should be at least 20 feet away from buildings. Even at 20 feet away, air flow patterns could still blow carbon monoxide into homes through attic vents, windows, or doors, so it's very important to have a working carbon monoxide detector inside the home.
• Never use a gas range or gas oven to heat your home.
• Never sleep in a room while using an unvented gas or kerosene heater.