Smoke Alarms


Protect your family year-around with working Smoke Alarm and a Home Fire Escape Plan. When the time changes it time to change the batteries in you smoke alarm and your carbon monoxide detectors.


Develop a home fire escape plan today…

How many smoke alarms
do I need to be protected?
The average-sized home needs more than one smoke alarm. Roxboro Fire and Rescue recommends having a smoke alarm on every level of your home between the living areas and the sleeping areas and an alarm in each bedroom.

Have a Plan
Most people think it takes about 10 minutes for a fire to become deadly in their home. However, fire grows exponentially every minute and you may have less than three minutes to escape. Changing Smoke Alarm batteries when time changes is one of the simplest, most effective ways to reduce these tragic deaths and injuries. In fact, working Smoking Alarms nearly cut in half the risk of dying in a home fire. Additionally, we recommend replacing your Smoke Alarms every ten years.  If your smoke alarm is older than 5 years old, you need to change the battery twice a year. These older units typically have a 9-volt battery that only lasts about a year. If your smoke alarm is less than 5 years old, it may have a 10-year battery. Look on the outside cover to see if you can determine which type you have. Test your alarm monthly by pushing the "test" button on the outside of the cover. It should make a loud steady noise. If you hear a softer "chirping" or intermittent noise, it is time to change the battery.

To save lives and prevent needless injuries in Roxboro and Person County, Roxboro Fire and Rescue offers the checking and installation of Smoke Alarms, free of charge. The program urges all Persons to adopt a simple, lifesaving habit: checking and changing Smoke Alarm and carbon monoxide detector batteries when changing clocks back to standard time each fall, this year on November 4th and clocks forward in the spring.

Communities nationwide witness tragic home fire deaths each year. An average of three children per day die in home fires and 80 percent of those occur in homes without working Smoke Alarms. Nonworking Smoke Alarms rob residents of the protective benefits home fire safety devices were designed to provide. The most commonly cited cause of nonworking Smoke Alarms are worn or missing batteries.

The peak time for home fire fatalities is between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when most families are sleeping per Chief Kenneth Torain. Smoke Alarm maintenance is a simple, effective way to reduce home fire deaths. Children and senior citizens are most at risk, and working Smoke Alarm can give them the extra seconds they need to get out safely. You may think that the sound or smell of a fire will wake you, but fire produces deadly gases that reach you long before you hear the crackling flames. Having a working smoke alarm in your home and knowing what to do when it sounds, increases your chance for survival by 50%!

NEVER remove the battery if your smoke alarm goes off accidentally!  If it keeps going off, it should be!

Make sure everyone knows - once out, stay out - never go back inside your home during a fire.