Voice of Real Australia: Working smoke alarms save lives, don't be complacent

Clean the filter on the clothes dryer. Don't put anything too close to, or hang over a heater or wood fire. Don't overload the power points.

These are messages I have heard for most of life. They are three key rules to guard against house fire.

But that doesn't mean a fire won't occur.

There is another message which is perhaps the most important of all. Make sure you have working smoke alarms installed in your home.

They may not stop a fire from starting but they are an essential tool in alerting a resident to a fire within their home.

This is especially the case when a fire breaks out at night.

People sleeping are less likely to wake up to the smell of smoke as they are to the sound of an alarm.

I can vouch from personal experience they are also invaluable when you think you have turned off the stove and head off to do other things, only to hear the screech of that smoke alarm a short time later.

It is then that your realise one hot plate was left on and has caused a saucepan to become dangerously heated.

Without a doubt, smoke alarms save lives.

As of August 1, residential fires had claimed 13 lives in NSW so far this season.

On average, around 20 people die in home fires each year according to Fire and Rescue NSW.

It is a statistic that has prompted authorities to urge people to check homes and businesses for obvious water damage that may cause electrical fires as well as checking smoke alarms are in working order.

There have also been 56 injuries suffered in the 576 house fires recorded across NSW so far this winter, with more than 150 blazes in the past few weeks alone.

Of those, 46 per cent didn't have a working smoke alarm and one in five didn't have a smoke alarm at all.

For renters, it's actually the responsibility of the landlord to ensure they are installed and working, though it's up to the renter to replace batteries (unless the alarm is hard-wired).

But it is ultimately the responsibility of each and every person to take the steps to ensure their is a working smoke alarm in their home even if you are simply putting a landlord on notice.

The bottom line is that smoke alarms do save lives. Please don't be complacent. Don't put it off until next week. Do it now.

The alternative could be devastating.

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