The office of the state fire marshal is promoting its new “Be Alarmed!” program, providing smoke alarms and education to the public. Under the program, fire departments receive smoke alarms with 10 year sealed batteries which firefighters will install in high risk areas. Fire Marshal Matt Perez says there are a variety of reasons people don’t have smoke detectors in their homes.
According to the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, six out of 10 residential fire deaths occur in homes that either don’t have a smoke alarm, or the smoke alarm isn’t working.