ESSEX County Fire and Rescue Service is urging people to make sure their family is safe by installing and regularly testing smoke alarms.
Fire safety experts are calling on the people of Essex to check elderly and vulnerable family and their neighbours have fully working smoke alarms too.
Last year more than a quarter of all accidental house fires in Essex occurred in homes which did not have a working smoke alarm. Between September 2011 and September 2012, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service attended 858 accidental house fires and 247 of these calls were to homes which did not have a single working smoke alarm.
By fitting properly working smoke alarms you can protect yourself and your family and receive vital early warning at the first sign of danger.
When a fire breaks out a home quickly fills with deadly smoke, only three or four breaths of smoke is enough to kill.
Without a working smoke alarm you and your family could easily suffocate before you even know anything is wrong.
A recent incident in Epping showed how important working smoke alarms can be.
An entire family were woken by their smoke alarm when their fridge caught fire at 2am.
The blaze was rapidly filling the home with smoke and if the alarm had not woken the family they would have suffocated in their sleep.
Divisional Officer Neil Fenwick said: "Smoke is a silent killer but by fitting alarms you can make sure that you get an audible warning at the first sign of danger.
"It is no exaggeration to say that a smoke alarm is the most important piece of equipment in any home; a working smoke alarm could be the difference between life and death when fire breaks out."
Once a smoke alarm has been fitted it is important that it is regularly tested.
Ideally smoke alarms should be tested once a week and dusted once a month to make sure that they are in full working order.
Many older people have trouble reaching up to test or dust their smoke alarms and will need help to make sure that they are as fire safe as possible.
DO Fenwick added: "The best way to look out for your vulnerable relatives and neighbours is to make sure that they have proper smoke detectors in their homes.
"Teach them how the smoke alarm works and if they are mobile enough teach them how to test and clean it and encourage them to test it as often as possible. "If they are not able to reach up and test the alarm for themselves, it is a good idea to test their smoke alarm for them whenever you go round to visit."
To find out if you or a relative or neighbour qualify for a free smoke alarm, call ECFRS on 0845 601 2495.
