“Be Alarmed!,” which began in 2018, is a fire safety education and smoke alarm installation program administered cooperatively between the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance (IFSA) and the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal (OSFM). The program distributes fire safety education materials and 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms to fire departments in the state of Illinois. The fire departments then deliver the education and install the smoke alarms in at-risk homes within their communities. Both the educational materials and the smoke alarms are provided to fire departments at no cost as a result of funding from both the IFSA and OSFM.
The program seeks to educate Illinois residents, young and old, on home fire safety and prevention methods, reduce the number of fire-related injuries in Illinois, reduce the number of fire-related deaths in Illinois, and identify the reason for non-working smoke alarms in Illinois homes.
Program Data (2018-2020):
- 185 Illinois fire departments from 61 different counties participate in the program
- 13,178 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms distributed to Illinois fire departments
- $285,389 worth of live-saving smoke alarms distributed to Illinois fire departments
- 9,548 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms installed in Illinois homes
- 3,215 Illinois homes now protected with new smoke alarms
- 7,489 (3,914 high-risk) Illinois residents educated on smoke alarm maintenance, home fire safety, and home fire escape plans as well as protected by new smoke alarms
- 85% of pre-existing smoke alarms in homes that received new 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms were non-functional or were expired (5,016 of 5,932 pre-existing smoke alarms)
Learn more about the Be Alarmed! Smoke Alarm Installation Program.
Fire Department Testimonials
“It has drastically helped our district because we are a poor rural district with the majority of our district low income. This has been a huge benefit to them and the elderly as well. The firefighters being the ones that put them up, we can guarantee, the smoke alarms are being put in the correct location and they have enough coverage for their home. The majority of people we have helped didn’t have their existing alarms in the right location nor did they have enough coverage. This increased coverage, and correct locations will save lives! In total for our district, we have installed close to 200 fire alarms with the majority coming through this program. I have been Fire Chief for the last five years and that was one of my main goals was to get the community safer than it was when I started. Thanks to the ‘Be Alarmed’ Program we have been able to do just that. I would highly recommend the program to every fire department in the State of Illinois! This program leads to safer communities, less fire related deaths, the knowledge of the importance of escape plans.”
“A department our size would never be able to afford the amount of detectors that your program has furnished for installation. We have installed 792 detectors in 157 homes. This has allowed us to get into these homes to help with fire escape planning, and fire safety in the home. We have been able to talk to young and old about what to do during a fire, and what to expect when we get there. We have been able to hand out the literature that you have provided to each home. This has been a valuable tool in our residential fire prevention efforts. We still have a list of installs, and calls coming in.”
“We were shocked by how many homes did not have even one working smoke detector when we arrived. Additionally, this opened the door to a conversation about fire safety, fire prevention, and even the services we provide to the community. I look forward to a continued partnership with your program. We have installed almost 100 alarms and I will not be satisfied until we have at least one of your alarms in every home in our community.”
