Welcome to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Podcast for March 9th, 2007. I’m Kim Dulic. A tragic house fire in New York City this week, which killed eight children and one adult, is a stark reminder that every family needs to be prepared in case of a fire emergency.

Between 1999 and 2003, there were an estimated 356,000 unintentionally set residential fires reported to fire departments annually. These fires resulted in an estimated annual average of 2,500 deaths and 14,000 injuries.

With daylight saving time coming up on Sunday, there is no better time to re-evaluate your home fire safety risk. CPSC is teaming up with the U.S. Fire Administration to remind consumers to check to ensure smoke alarms are working properly and that they have fresh batteries.

We’re also adding a new message this year: use the time change as an opportunity to take a fresh look at your family’s fire escape plan.

While smoke alarms have helped save countless lives over the past 30 years, research has shown that children younger than 16 may not reliably wake up when the alarm goes off. The fact that children may sleep through the sound of a smoke alarm must be taken into account when creating the family fire escape plan.

Many fire protection agencies recommend that families conduct a fire escape drill either late at night or early in the morning. This drill will help parents determine if their children are awakened by and able to respond to the sound of a smoke alarm. The traditional fire escape plan of everyone meeting at a common location outside the home may leave those children who do not respond to the smoke alarm sound at risk. The fire safety community encourages parents and caregivers to factor into their plan that they may need to assist children in getting to a safe location when an alarm activates at a time when they are asleep.

Smoke alarms save lives and everyone should have working alarms on each floor of their house and inside every bedroom. So that even more lives can be saved in the future, the fire safety community is currently working to improve smoke alarm audibility for children.

Consumers should replace their smoke alarms every 10 years since the sensors in these devices can degrade because of environmental contamination and from age. In addition to replacing batteries in smoke alarms at least once every year, CPSC and USFA recommend testing them monthly. Battery backup is an important consideration for those alarms that are powered by your home’s electrical system.

CPSC and USFA have produced a new one-minute public service announcement on the importance of having working smoke alarms and an effective fire escape plan. Here’s a part of that PSA featuring CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord:

[NANCY NORD:] Did you know that two-thirds of fires that kill children younger than 5 are in homes that do not have a smoke alarm? Smoke alarms save lives, and they should be placed on every floor and in every bedroom of a home.

To see the complete PSA or for more information on Fire Safety, go to CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.

Also at our Web site, you’ll find news about recalled products. This week, CPSC announced the recall of 100,000 throat plates sold with Ryobi Router Tables due to a laceration hazard, and about 14,000 Weber Genesis 320 Series gas grills due to a fire hazard. CPSC also announced the recall of two children’s jackets: About 16,000 Cobmex youth jackets with drawstrings due to a strangulation hazard, and about 2,700 boy’s jackets with compasses sold at H & M stores that have choking and poisoning hazards.

For complete information on all CPSC recalls and safety news, go to our Web site at www.cpsc.gov. -- And until next time, stay safe.

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