I thought we were suffering an Attack of the Killer Crickets recently when noisy chirps and cheeps erupted around the house.
Turns out it was our smoke alarms. The dying batteries were sending out a signal: "Replace me!"
It was good timing. Fire Prevention Week was Oct. 3 to 9. On Oct. 31, when we change from daylight saving time to standard time, fire-prevention experts urge us to replace the batteries in our smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors.
We've concentrated so hard the past few months on the wind and water of hurricanes that it's easy to forget that the storms pose a fire danger as well. The U.S. Fire Administration offers these hurricane and fire cautions:
* Leaking gas lines, propane canisters and vehicle gas tanks can explode or ignite.
* Debris can ignite, especially if downed electrical lines are nearby.
* Generators can start fires or cause carbon-monoxide poisoning.
* Alternative heating devices - kerosene heaters, the kitchen stove - can create fire hazards.
* Spilled combustible liquids - paint thinner, lighter fluid, gasoline - that are stored in a garage or shed are another danger.
You can buy a battery-operated smoke/carbon-monoxide alarm at a home center, hardware or drugstore for as little as $10. You should have one on every level of your home and inside each bedroom, as well as in the hall. Don't forget the garage.
Lots of people think they don't need a smoke alarm. Two-thirds of the respondents in a survey conducted last winter by Roper ASW said they thought the smell of smoke would wake them from a sound sleep. But fire experts cite tests showing that your sense of smell falls asleep when you do. You might not live to wake up and smell the smoke.
Ninety-four percent of U.S. homes have at least one smoke alarm, but half the home fire deaths occur in the 6 percent with no alarms.
Carbon monoxide is that colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that can kill you. It is generated by your car's engine, by faulty gas appliances, by improperly vented fireplaces and portable heaters.
Newly built, snug, energy-efficient homes often are more at risk for carbon-monoxide problems than leaky older homes. They trap carbon monoxide inside and prevent a ready exchange of fresh air.
The symptoms of carbon-monoxide poisoning resemble those of the flu: headache, nausea, fatigue. Children are especially vulnerable.
The experts suggest making prevention a family activity. If you don't have alarms, take the kids on a shopping trip to buy them. Let them help install the alarms, especially in their own rooms. Only 56 percent of U.S. kids' rooms have smoke alarms, the same percentage that have TVs, according to First Alert, a manufacturer of home safety products. The company offers information, a safety audit and a quiz at www.homesafetychallenge.com. Set off the alarm so the kids know what it sounds like. Then talk about what to do if the alarm goes off. Create a family evacuation plan. How will you get out? If one door is blocked, what's the alternative? Where will you meet outside the house? Talk about the importance of getting out, period, without stopping for toys or Game Boys.
Sometimes kids hide under a bed or in a closet when there's a fire. Discuss this and explain why it's a bad idea. Practice your family fire drill. More kids' fire-prevention facts and activities are at www.usfa.fema.gov Run your mouse over "for the public" and then click on "kids page."
Then next October, make changing the batteries in your alarms a family activity. Don't wait for the Attack of the Killer Crickets.
