Keven Moore: New generation of smoke detectors is game-changing technology that will save lives

The smoke signal is one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication. In today’s word, however, detecting a “smoke signal” is synonymous with warning occupants within a home of potential fire hazard and saving lives.

According to a somewhat-dated National Fire Protection Association report, smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a fire in half. Statistics indicate that three-quarters of all homes in America have at least one working smoke alarm. However, NFPA statistics also show that the majority of the roughly 2,700 people who die annually in residential fires in the United States live in homes with either no smoke alarms or non-working devices.

When local fire officials investigate a home fire after the fact, they often discover that the residents had a smoke detector, but that it had been disabled because of the nuisance factor when cooking. Many alarms simply didn’t work because they were disabled by residents annoyed by the piercing loud alarm and were never put back in working order.

For those that watch NBC’s “This Is Us,” many watched in horror last season when the camera panned to the battery-less smoke detector, forecasting what was to come. A neighbor was packing and contemplated throwing away an old crockpot, but instead chose to gift it to the Pearson family. Later we discovered that it was this old crockpot that caused the house fire that killed Jack, the beloved father.How many times have you temporarily disabled your smoke detector by either .....Continue Reading