This week is National Fire Prevention Week and this year’s theme from the National Fire Prevention Association is “Smoke Alarms: Make Them Work For You.”

Jefferson Fire Chief Jack Williams says smoke alarms are the early alarm system that warns you of smoke inside the home or business to get you out safely. Williams points out the typical locations where people should have smoke detectors includes basement ceilings and the stairways up to the main floor, top of the stairs between the first and second floors, and entries into bedrooms. He explains one area of the home to not have a smoke detector.

“Do not put one in the kitchen because all of us aren’t perfect. We burn stuff which causes the false alarms with them.”  

However, Williams advises having fire extinguishers in the kitchen to assist putting out accidental fires that can happen, as the kitchen is one of the more common areas that fires happen. He describes one important aspect to do for maintenance of a fire extinguisher.

“Just make sure that a couple times a year you’re picking them up and shaking them so that the powder that’s inside doesn’t just become a solid rock on the bottom. You can take a rubber mallet and beat on the bottom of them to make sure that it’s broke free and still working properly.”

Williams adds to pay attention to the packaging of what the fire extinguishers come in or the bottle to tell when the expiration year is and replace them if needed.