Get Alarmed, Virginia! is a state program was that was created in 1998 by the Virginia Departments Health and Virginia Department of Fire Programs. It is designed to assist in lowering state fire injury, death and loss of property, via the identification and installation of smoke alarms, and the delivery of public fire and life safety education.
News
Get Alarmed, Virginia! Program Saves 5 Lives.
The Get Alarmed, Virginia! smoke alarm installation and education campaign, now in its eleventh year of helping to prevent fire related deaths and injuries across the Commonwealth by installing smoke alarms in at-risk homes, potentially saved 5 more lives in the Mt. Crawford community of Rockingham County, VA on June 9. Click here to read the full Press Release.
For a list of current Get Alarmed, Virginia! smoke alarm installation projects, click here.
Evaluation of the 10 Year Smoke Alarm Project, National Center for Healthy Housing, October 7, 2008
Study conducted by the National Center for Healthy Housing for the US CDC to evaluate a subset of homes that received smoke alarms between 1998-2001 to determine if the lithium-powered smoke alarms were operational 8-10 years after installation. Virginia was one of five states that participated in the study. The evaluation showed that 1/3 of the originally installed smoke alarms were present and operational. Download the complete Evaluation of the 10-Year Smoke Alarm Project document for further information.
2008 NFPA Fireworks Reports
New 2008 NFPA report on fireworks indicates that the risk of fire death relative to time used shows fireworks as the riskiest consumer product. The risk that someone will die from fire when fireworks are being used is higher relative to exposure time than the risk of fire death when a cigarette is being smoked. The risks with fireworks are not limited to displays, public or private. Risks also exist wherever fireworks are manufactured, transported, or stored. "Safe and sane" fireworks are neither. Fireworks and sparklers are designed to explode or throw off showers of hot sparks. Temperatures may exceed 1200°F. To learn more, download or view the complete 2008 NFPA Fireworks Report.
Behavioral Mitigation of cooking Fires Through Strategies Based on Statistical Analysis, August 2007 - new report from U.S. Fire Administration and National Fire Protection Association
Fires resulting from cooking continue to be the most common type of fire experienced by U.S. households. This is true for fires reported to fire departments and those handled by private individuals. Cooking fires are also the leading cause of home fire injuries. As a result, the U.S. Fire Administration has partnered with the National Fire Protection Association to research the types of behaviors and sequences of events that lead to cooking fires and develop sound recommendations for behavioral mitigation strategies that will reduce such fires and their resultant injuries and fatalities. Their recommendations are included in the report. To view or download the full report, click here. For the report's list of educational messages developed based on the research findings for safe home cooking, view or download the Cooking Fire and Burn Prevention Messages document.
A Cost Analysis of a Smoke Alarm Installation and Fire Safety Education Program
Journal of Safety Research, September 2006
This report examined the cost effectiveness of the CDC supported SAIFE (Smoke Alarm Installation and Fire Safety Education) program. The report concludes that as more smoke alarms are installed, the average installation cost per alarm decreases. By demonstrating effective economies of scale, this study suggests that smoke alarm programs can be implemented efficiently and receive positive economic returns on investment.
To read the complete report, click here.
U.S. Experience with Smoke Alarms and other Fire Detection/Alarm Equipment
Fire Analysis and Research Division, National Fire Protection Association, April 2007
The National Fire Protection Association examines the use of residential smoke alarms in the United States in this 2007 report. Almost all households in the U.S. have at least one smoke alarm, yet in 2000-2004, no smoke alarms were present or none operated in almost half (46%) of the reported home fires. During the same period, 43% of all home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms, while 22% resulted from homes in which smoke alarms were present but did not operate. More than half (54%) of the smoke alarm failures were due to missing or disconnected batteries; 19% were due to dead batteries. Nuisance alarms were the leading cause of disabled alarms.
To read the complete report, click here.
The Division of Injury and Violence Prevention's Get Alarmed, Virginia! smoke alarm installation project included in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control's publication: Working Toward the Elimination of Residential Fire Deaths: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Smoke Alarm Installation and Fire Safety Education (SAIFE) Program that was published in the September/October 2005 edition of the Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation. The article takes a programmatic point of view and describes the Get Alarmed initiative funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and managed by health departments in 16 states, including Virginia. The article summarizes the program's accomplishments since its inception in 1998. Click here to read the full journal article.
