Illinois e-News Release

Peoria, Ill- State and local fire safety experts gathered at the Peoria Fire Department yesterday, to raise awareness about the importance of working smoke alarms in their homes and to highlight a no-cost smoke alarm installation program in place for central Illinois residents.

 

“Working smoke alarms save lives, it’s that simple! The OSFM is a proud partner in the Be Alarmed Smoke Alarm Installation Program, a proven lifesaving initiative. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the dedicated fire departments across Illinois who go above and beyond to educate their communities and install these critical alarms in homes. Just one properly installed smoke alarm can mean the difference between life and death,” said Illinois State Fire Marshal Michele Pankow. “Not only do these alarms give residents precious time to safely evacuate, but they also help protect our firefighters by reducing the need for risky rescue operations inside burning homes.”

“Participating in the Be Alarmed smoke alarm program through the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance has been a tremendous benefit to not only the Peoria Fire Department, but the citizens of the city of Peoria. The Peoria Fire Department is proud to have accomplished the installation of 1000 alarms and ensure the safety of residents in Peoria,” said Peoria Fire Department Division Chief of Fire Prevention Nate Rice. “It is the goal of the Peoria Fire Department to continually strive that every home in Peoria is equipped with working smoke alarms because we understand how they save lives in the most terrifying moments of a person life. The Peoria Fire Department further has seen a decrease in fire injuries and fire deaths the last two years and utilizing the Be Alarmed program has contributed to this success.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association, smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by more than half, 54% to be exact. Meanwhile, roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

The Peoria Fire Department offers these key smoke alarm safety tips and guidelines:

“The Be Alarmed! Smoke Alarm installation program aims to protect and educate residents across the entire state, while reducing residential fire deaths and injuries. The partnerships built between Camp I Am Me, OSFM, and the more than 360 Illinois fire departments participating in this program and has led to more than 50,000 smoke alarms being distributed to protect citizens – more than 1.25 million dollars’ worth of life-saving equipment,” said Camp I AM Me Executive Director Philip Zaleski. “This is vitally important as the installation data we have collected since the program began in 2018 has shown that more than 70% of smoke alarms in homes that are receiving replacement alarms are non-functioning as a result a result of no batteries in the units, dead batteries, or the alarms are more than 10-years old. Today we are proud to highlight the Peoria Fire Department for not only their dedication to fire safety education outreach in the community, but also for their efforts with Be Alarmed! as they have installed more than 1,000 alarms in 396 households, protecting 884 of their residents since joining the program.”

“Be Alarmed!” is a fire safety education and smoke alarm installation program administered cooperatively between Camp I Am Me (CIAM) and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM). The program distributes fire safety education materials and 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms to fire departments in the state of Illinois. The fire departments then deliver the education while installing smoke alarms in at-risk homes within their communities. Both the educational materials and smoke alarms are provided at no cost as a result of funding from both the CIAM and OSFM. 

To learn more about the program visit: https://www.ifsa.org/prevention-resources/smoke-alarm/