I have to admit to doing the unthinkable. You know the smoke alarms in your home that require about five minutes or less of attention a year? They will emit the loud beeping noise that lands like a saber straight to the brain, alerting you to their imminent ineffectiveness if you don’t change the batteries NOW.

I didn’t have the correct batteries on hand on one particular afternoon, and I was expecting a barrage of children anytime to celebrate my four-year-old’s birthday. Annoyed, and in defiance of the invitation to simply take a moment to get the right batteries, I proceeded to dismantle the smoke alarm instead.

I have fought with equipment before – lazy toasters, unresponsive vacuums – and I’m not afraid to exert my will on them. I grabbed a stepladder, took my Phillips head to the screw, and yanked out the dead batteries. I even left the wires hanging out as a warning to the other smoke alarms should they even think about it…

A little while later, in came the children, parents, presents and loud, happy noises – your typical kid party with little bodies running in every direction. Within an hour of arriving, the little one we lovingly refer to as ‘Firefly’ had lit a scented pinecone on fire and smoke filled the room. Unfortunately, the party had moved outside and nobody noticed it or the smothering smell of frankincense. We sure didn’t hear the smoke alarm go off, either, because it had just been eviscerated.

It was only on a restroom run that one of the parents saw the lit pinecone and acted quickly to put it out. No one was hurt, and nothing of any consequence was damaged, but I was a wreck, thinking about the disastrous possibilities.

This lesson won’t need to be offered at my house again!

Now, we always have the correct smoke alarm batteries on hand, and we added a new family tradition. On the first Saturday of the month, we change the AC filter, review our fire safety plan and test the smoke alarms. I admit this wasn’t my idea, though. When my child told his class about the fire, we received an outpouring of safety suggestions from his teacher.

Chagrined, but eager to provide the safest home environment I could, I followed up on the great idea to head over to the local fire station. They have safety checklists and fun kid activities that teach home safety.

There is still the occasional unruly appliance at my house, but the smoke alarm has my utmost respect!

The Home Safety Council annually recognizes June as Home Safety Month. Check out their official website – www.homesafetycouncil.org – there are a wealth of tools available to help make your home safer!  These include a virtual tour of a safe home, the ability to share your personal home safety store, and a safety guide of tips to protect you against the leading causes of home injury.

Additionally, Cenpatico has developed a brochure to improve safety in the home- this includes information on storing medication safely, locking up firearms, and more.

Cenpatico encourages everyone to take the time to find out everything you can about making your home safe – its well worth it.

Robin Cermak

Clinical Quality Improvement Coordinator

This entry is filed under Blog.