Fire Prevention Week is October 6-12

Illinois DCFS distributed smoke alarms to 1,368 Illinois families this year and reminds the public of the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home

(CHICAGO) - Fire Prevention Week^TM is October 6-12, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) is promoting this year's campaign, "Smoke alarms: Make them work for you!™" by reminding the public about the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home.

In October 2019, DCFS launched a statewide program to provide free smoke alarms to families served by the department. To date, DCFS has distributed 6,135 smoke alarms to families across Illinois, including 1,368 this year, an increase of over 470 from the same time last year.

"We know that smoke alarms save lives, and providing free smoke alarms to the families we serve is a simple, and crucial, step we can take to keep them safe in the event of a fire," said Illinois DCFS Director Heidi E. Mueller. "It is also important for caregivers to test their alarms once a month and practice a fire escape plan with their children so everyone knows what to do if the alarm sounds."

According to the National Fire Protection Association:

• Roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
• More than one-third (38%) of home fire deaths result from fires in which no smoke alarms are present.
• Working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by more than half (54%).

 Illinois law requires every household to have smoke alarms within 15 feet of every bedroom and at least one on each floor of the home. Families served by DCFS may request smoke alarms from their caseworker or call their local field office to request one.

The National Fire Protection Association offers these guidelines to help keep families safe:

• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, in hallways outside of each bedroom and on every level of the home, including the basement.
• Test smoke alarms once a month by pressing the test button to be sure they are working.
• Replace smoke alarms when they are 10 years old.
• Working smoke alarms are an important part of a home fire escape plan. 

 About the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Currently celebrating 60 years as the nation's first cabinet-level child welfare agency, DCFS is responsible for protecting children from abuse or neglect by responding to reports received by the Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-252-2873 (1-800-25-ABUSE) or childabuse.illinois.gov (non-emergency). With the goal of keeping children safe, DCFS strengthens and supports families with a wide range of services. In the event a child must be removed from the home, DCFS makes every effort to reunite them with their family. When the best interest of the child makes this impossible (less than 4% of the time), DCFS is committed to pursuing guardianship and fictive kin as primary options.

About Fire Prevention Week: Fire Prevention Week is observed each year during the week of October 9 in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire, which began on October 8, 1871, and caused devastating damage. This horrific conflagration killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres of land. For more information about Fire Prevention Week and fire prevention in general, visit www.fpw.org.