By Bethany Bray Patterson, American Red Cross Regional Communications Manager

Do you know how old the smoke alarms in your home are?

Like many people, Washington D.C. resident Eileen McConnell wasn’t sure. So when a team of Red Cross volunteers came through her neighborhood recently to test and install free smoke alarms, she was surprised to find out that they were more than 10 years old.

The sensors on smoke alarms become less sensitive over time, so it’s recommended to replace them at least once each decade. Having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death or serious injury in a home fire by half.

Each smoke alarm has its date of manufacture stamped on the back, which can be checked by taking the alarm off the wall.

On that spring Saturday, Red Cross volunteers replaced two smoke alarms in McConnell’s home – one in a ground-floor living space and one in the basement – that were from 2010. The team also helped her create a plan to exit her home in case of a fire and talked about the importance of testing her smoke alarms every month.

“Y’all are a blessing,” McConnell said to Red Cross volunteers LaQuelle Martin, Gilbert Hountangni and Chuck Harris as they chatted on her front stoop before moving on to other homes in her neighborhood.

On May 15, Red Cross volunteers – in partnership with the D.C. Fire Department – installed 99 smoke alarms in homes in the Deanwood community and made 71 homes safer by speaking with residents about fire safety, the importance of having an escape plan and regular testing of smoke alarms.

This work is done across the U.S. each spring as part of the Red Cross Sound the Alarm campaign. Since its inception in 2014, the Red Cross has installed more than 2.5 million smoke alarms in home across the U.S., resulting in more than 1,600 lives saved in home fires that later occurred in homes where alarms were installed.

The Red Cross of the National Capital and Greater Chesapeake Region is holding Sound the Alarm events in communities across Maryland, Delaware and Northern Virginia in April and May. Find out more, request a smoke alarm or join us as a volunteer by entering your zip code at SoundTheAlarm.org.

Smoke Alarm Safety

Smoke alarms can detect both smoldering and flaming fires by sensing abnormal amounts of smoke or invisible combustion gases in the air. Having working smoke alarms can cut your risk of death or serious injury in a home fire by half.

• Use the test button to test your smoke alarms at least monthly.
• If you have battery-powered smoke alarms, replace the batteries at least once a year. While you’re at it, replace the batteries in your carbon monoxide (CO) alarms at the same time you replace your smoke alarm batteries.
• Replace your smoke alarms every 10 years.
• To prevent nuisance alarms, vacuum cobwebs and dust from your smoke alarms monthly. Never disable a smoke alarm, even if you experience nuisance alarms while cooking or showering. Instead, use the alarm’s “hush” button. If nuisance alarms are a persistent problem, look for a different type of smoke alarm and ensure they are installed in correct areas in the home.
• If smoke alarms are not already in place, at a minimum install them on every level of the home and outside each sleeping area – in locations where humans and pets will hear them. In new homes, the National Fire Alarm Code (NFPA 72) requires hard-wired, interconnected smoke alarms with battery back-up on every level of the home, outside each sleeping area, and inside each bedroom. Alarms must be wired together so that if one sounds, they all sound.

Find more information and important tips at RedCross.org/HomeFire