Residential smoke alarms and fire escape plans

Objective. To estimate the proportion of U.S. homes with installed smoke al arms, smoke alarms on the same floor as occupants' bedrooms, and fire escap e plans. Methods, The authors analyzed data on smoke alarm use and fire escape plann ing from a 1994 stratified random telephone survey of 5238 U.S. households. Results. Respondents From 91% of surveyed households reported the presence of at least one installed smoke alarm, and 94% of respondents reported havi ng an alarm on the same level of the home as their sleeping area. The preva lence of installed smoke alarms varied by highest education level in the ho usehold and income level. Sixty percent of all households had designed or d iscussed a Fire escape plan at least once; only 17% of these households had actually practiced one. Conclusions. Although overall use of smoke alarms was high, certain populat ion subgroups were less likely to have smoke a arms or to have them install ed on the same floor as bedrooms. Fire escape planning, another important s afety measure. was somewhat less common, and very few respondents reported having practiced a fire escape plan with the members of their household.