State Fire Marshal launches "Be Alarmed!" program

SPRINGFIELD – The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance (IFSA) today launched 'Be Alarmed!' – a joint smoke alarm installation program that provides smoke alarms to Illinoisans through their local fire departments.

The OFSM will distribute smoke alarms with 10-year sealed batteries and fire safety educational materials to participating fire departments, at no-cost to residents. The OSFM requires participating fire departments to personally install each smoke alarm, educate the community on fire prevention and safety, and provide installation survey data to the IFSA.

'Working smoke alarms provide crucial advance warning and can potentially save lives,' said State Fire Marshal Matt Perez. 'The ‘Be Alarmed!' program will help ensure that Illinoisans have the tools and know-how to prevent and escape a fire should one occur. We encourage everyone to be alarmed in the new year and make sure your home is equipped with working smoke alarms.'

'Six out of ten residential fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms,' said Illinois Fire Safety Alliance Executive Director, Philip Zaleski. 'The Illinois Fire Safety Alliance is excited to have developed this program in cooperation with the State Fire Marshal's Office to provide smoke alarms to Illinois residents and help reduce the number of fire related injuries and deaths across the state.'

'Be Alarmed!' is a fire safety educational program developed to educate Illinoisans and to ensure that properly installed and working smoke alarms are in homes across Illinois.

The program seeks to:

1. Educate Illinois residents, young and old, on home fire safety and prevention methods,
2. Reduce the number of fire-related injuries in Illinois,
3. Reduce the number of fire-related deaths in Illinois, and
4. Identify the reason for non-working smoke alarms in Illinois homes.

All fire alarms and educational materials will be provided at no-cost to eligible fire departments from OSFM and IFSA with additional assistance from corporate partners including Kidde and Menards.

Interested fire departments should go to www.IFSA.org/programs/alarms for eligibility requirements and the request form.

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