Smoke alarm ownership and installation: A comparison of a rural and a suburban community in Georgia

As part of a smoke alarm giveaway and installation program (The Get-Alarmed Campaign), a total of 454 households were surveyed in two counties in Geor gia, one metropolitan and one nonmetropolitan. The targeted communities in these counties had a high prevalence of low-income and minority populations and thus were at high risk of house fire-related morbidity and mortality. The objectives of the program were to determine the prevalence of and predi ctors for installed, functioning smoke alarms, and to install at least one smoke alarm and/or smoke alarm batteries in 100% of participating homes in need. Characteristics associated with smoke alarm ownership included home o wnership, having a higher income, and having a central heating source, fact ors which should be considered in targeting future intervention strategies. At onset, 159/454 households (35.0%) had no smoke alarms installed and 56/ 275 households with existing smoke alarms (20.4%) had none that were functi onal. Regardless of ownership status, a free smoke alarm was installed in t he household of 93.8% of participants and new batteries were installed in e xisting smoke alarms for 31.7% of participants. This project illustrates th e usefulness of a door-to-door campaign in increasing smoke alarm ownership in both it rural and a suburban community with a high concentration of res idents at high risk of house fire-related morbidity and mortality.