Gift for home could be lifesaver

By John Adams

For the AJC


’Tis the season to gather ’round the hearth and give thanks for our many blessings. For families all across America, the exchange of gifts will mark the Christmas celebration, and great care and thought often goes into the selection of just the right present.

May I suggest a gift that you might want to consider for any or all of your loved ones? It is especially appropriate given its purpose and the time of year.

It is inexpensive, yet it demonstrates in a tangible (and audible) way the affection you feel for the recipient.

It is easy to set up and install, and almost always comes with everything needed, so you don’t have to rush out Christmas morning looking for a battery.

If you are lucky, the person receiving your gift will never need to use it, but if they do, your gift could save their life and the lives of all in that household.

This gift is small enough to fit in a stocking, yet loud enough to wake an entire household from a deep sleep.

By now, you may have guessed my gift suggestion: a common smoke alarm.

And a gift of a new smoke alarm is a very tangible way to express genuine concern for the safety of your loved ones. Here are the facts from the National Fire Protection Association:

● Smoke alarms save lives. But they can’t do that if they aren’t working or the battery is worn out.

● Almost all households in the U.S. have at least one smoke alarm, yet during the period 2003-2006, alarms were present in only about two-thirds of all reported home fires and operated in just under half of the reported home fires.

● Forty percent of all home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms, while 23 percent resulted from homes in which smoke alarms were present but did not sound. The death rate per 100 reported fires was twice as high in homes without a working smoke alarm as it was in home fires with this protection.

● Hard-wired smoke alarms are more reliable than those powered solely by batteries.

But wait, you say, your household already has working smoke alarms, and the batteries have been replaced recently.

Well, here’s a morsel you need to know: The active working component in many smoke alarms is designed to operate at maximum efficiency for only about 10 years. And if your current alarms are more than a decade old, it may be a good time to replace them with new models, even if they appear to be working properly.

The NFPA recommends that both battery-operated and hard-wired smoke alarms be replaced every 10 years.

For more information on both fire safety and smoke alarms, visit my Web site, www.money99.com.

John Adams is an author, broadcaster and investor. He answers real estate questions at noon Saturdays on WGKA-AM (920). For more real estate information or to make a comment, visit www.money99.com.