Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives: Test Yours Every Month!

In recognition of Fire Prevention Week and this year’s theme, “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives: Test Yours Every Month!”, Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) recently commissioned a study to determine how often Americans test their household smoke alarms. The survey revealed that 90 percent of U.S adults don’t test them monthly.

“According to the NFPA, roughly two out of every three fire-related deaths happen in homes where a smoke detector isn't present or working properly,” said John Amann, Vice President of Operations, Cintas Corporation. “Testing a smoke alarm is as easy as pushing a button, and yet, our survey findings suggest most of us still neglect to test these devices each month. This puts us and our families in danger.”

The survey, which was conducted online by Harris Poll in September among 2,013 adults ages 18 and older, revealed that:

• Some adults (10 percent) test their smoke alarms at least once a month.
• Nearly half of adults (48 percent) only test their alarms once or twice a year.
• Almost a quarter of adults (23 percent) don’t have alarms present in their home, don’t test their alarms or don’t know how often their alarms are tested.

These findings reinforce the importance of this year's FPW campaign and the fact that we still have a long way to go in educating the public about montly smoke alarm testing.

Fore more information on Cintas fire protection services, visit www.cintas.com/fire.