WITH the statistic of 21 Jamaicans losing their lives to fires since the start of the year being the sobering backdrop, Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) is embarking on a drive to prevent these incidents and make homes more fire-safe by promoting the use of wireless, smart smoke detectors.

Commissioner of JFB Stewart Beckford, who made the announcement at Wednesday’s media launch of Fire and Life Safety Awareness Week, 2024, at the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development’s Hagley Park Road location, lamented “that’s 21 lives that could have been saved, because fire-related deaths are preventable”.

He noted that 95 per cent of fire deaths occur within homes, and data from the United States indicate that three out of every five deaths occur in homes without smoke detectors. Or if the homes did have, they didn’t work because there was no maintenance of those smoke detectors.

Beckford said the US-based National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has also indicated that people are 54 per cent less likely to die in a fire if there are enough smoke detectors in the home.

The fire chief said JFB’s campaign will see an initial installation of about 200 smart smoke detectors over the next week, targeting people who may not be in a position to acquire them, such as the elderly living alone.

“So, we’ll be targeting mostly some of the inner-city communities because most of the fires that we respond to are in those areas. But also the homes — whether golden age homes or children homes — we will be targeting those as well. They are vulnerable, and most of them are domiciled there and people with varying disabilities that may not be able to move and move quickly. So, with advanced warning then we will be able to have a safe evacuation of these persons,” he told the Jamaica Observer following the launch.

“We will be doing whatever we can, with the resources that we have, to install as many smoke detectors throughout the week as we can. But, of course, there is still a lot that we will continue to do after the week has ended,” he said.

He said that outside of the people being targeted, persons who are in need of the device can call JFB, make the request, and the device will be provided free of cost.

“We will give them free, because some of these are donated by sponsors so we will be giving them free, and we’ll be teaching them how to maintain them. So, installing it is one [but] we have to maintain it — and by that I mean every six months you change the batteries. Even if it has not gone off once in the six months, still change the batteries. That’s part of the maintenance,” he said.

Beckford noted that for citizens who have the means to equip their homes, they should do so. The recommendation is that one is to be placed in every room of the house, and in passageways.

“These things are relatively inexpensive and they do save lives, so invest in smoke detectors. The data is there to suggest that when you have these in your home you stand a better chance of surviving, because one of the things that it does — especially the modern ones that are being built now — is that it doesn’t take long for them to go off to trigger a warning, unlike the older types that you have to have lots of smoke in the building for them to go off. [With] these, just small particles of smoke can trigger the alarm,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Sean Martin told the Observer that the smart smoke detectors are economical, with each costing approximately $2,500.

“They are sold locally; you can buy them on Amazon. We’re mainly promoting the smart ones — the smart ones are wireless and easy to install,” he said, noting JFB will assist individuals, if required.

He said the smart smoke detectors will be on display and available for distribution at the four exposition events JFB plans to stage across the island.