October is National Fire Prevention Month, however most fire departments designate the second week of October as “Fire Prevention Week”. The theme of Fire Prevention Week this year was keeping your family & tenants safe with working smoke alarms in every bedroom. As a landlord or property manager, fire prevention should be on the top of your list of priorities. According to NFPA.org, roughly half of home fire deaths result from fires reported between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most people are sleeping.

Here are a few tips regarding smoke alarms:

• Be sure to test smoke alarms every month.
• Don’t ignore the alarms! If a smoke alarm goes off, make sure your tenants go outside and stay outside.
• Replace the smoke alarms on your property every 10 years!
• Avoid installing smoke alarms near doors, windows or ducts where the draft could hinder their operation.
• Make sure interconnected smoke alarms are all from the same manufacturer. If not, they may not be compatible and you run the risk of an alarm not sounding.
• Choose smoke alarms that have the label of a recognized testing laboratory.
• Make sure each person in the home or building knows the sound of the smoke alarm and how they should respond if they hear it sound.

One of the key items to consider from this year’s Fire Prevention Week is to install smoke alarms in every bedroom and outside of each sleeping area.

Be sure to check out the great Insurance Programs for Condominium Insurance, Cooperative Insurance, Apartment Insurance and Property Manager’s Insurance that New Empire Group, Ltd. offers!

Find us on Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter!