Smoke Detectors Credited for Helping Save Lives in Recent Fire

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — The sound of your smoke detector could very well be a sound that saves your life. But if you don’t hear it, it won’t help. “If they’re not working, then they’re not going to save your life,” says Brick Lewis, Spokesperson for the Columbia Fire Department According to the National Fire Protection Association, 90% of Americans have smoke detectors in their homes, but only 50% of those work. “We come across that a lot whether it’s in residential homes, single family dwellings, apartment complexes even businesses sometimes. You come across some either that they’re non-operational due to defects in them or they just simply don’t have either batteries in them or working batteries,” says Lewis But this week, the smoke detectors did work in this apartment fire near Stone Ridge Apartments off of Broad River Road. “After we got into the stage of cleaning up, we still heard many of those smoke detectors going off,” says Lewis While the fire left twenty residents without their homes, no one died. Smoke detectors, say officials, played a role in that outcome. Smoke detectors are relatively inexpensive, we found several at the Ace Hardware in West Columbia ranging from $9.00 – $50.00. But purchasing them is just the start, you have to make sure the batteries are working. Columbia Fire officials suggest checking your smoke detector every month and checking the batteries twice a year. It is also recommended that you completely change out smoke detectors in your home every ten years.