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 smoke alarms in at-risk homes within their communities while recording data for reporting purposes. Both the educational materials and smoke alarms are provided to fire departments at no cost to participating Illinois fire departments.
The program was developed to educate Illinois residents on the dangers of fire in the home and how to prevent fires from occurring in the home, as well as to ensure there are working smoke alarms properly installed in homes. By providing 10-year concealed battery smoke alarms, it ensures that the power source cannot be removed from the unit and, if properly maintained, will last the life of the device.
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.
- Only 10-year concealed lithium battery operated smoke alarms will be utilized and distributed to fire departments .
- 24 alarms will be provided to fire departments per request.
- Smoke alarms are required to be installed in resident homes – distributing or giving away the alarms by fire departments is prohibited.
- Smoke alarm informational pamphlets, home fire safety checklists, and home fire escape plans will be provided to fire departments – educational materials which must be provided to the home residents.
- Fire departments will record and submit installation survey data via the Be Alarmed! web portal upon completion of installations.
- Additional requested smoke alarms will not be permitted to fire departments until 20 of the of the previously received 24 alarms have been installed and installation surveys have been submitted.
This program is available to fire departments located in the state of Illinois. Fire departments must be able to:
- Provide documentation demonstrating that a smoke alarm installation program is in place upon requesting alarms through this program.
- Acknowledge the program Release from Liability language.
- Record and submit installation survey data within 10 days of completing a home installation.
- Educate the homeowners on smoke alarm maintenance, fire safety, and fire escape planning when installing smoke alarms.
If the program eligibility requirements are able to be met by the fire department:
- Visit the Register Your Department page to complete the program registration form.
- Fire departments requesting alarms for the first time through this program will be required to provide documentation demonstrating that a department smoke alarm installation program is in place. This documentation will not be required when requesting future alarms.
- OSFM will ship 24 10-year sealed battery smoke alarms, 12 Smoke Alarm Informational Pamphlets, 12 Home Fire Safety Checklist & Home Fire Escape Plan documents, and 12 generic Installation Survey form documents.
- Upon installation of alarms in homes and the education on fire safety to residents, the reporter will document the visit using the Be Alarmed! web portal. Complete all of the required fields and take detailed notes to ensure that each visit has been successfully documented. Be sure that an Installation Survey Form is submitted for each property where a smoke alarm installation is conducted.
The web portal can be accessed at alarms.ifsa.org.
- The web portal will maintain all records for the participating fire department. Additional detail can be requested from Camp I Am Me if needed.
- When 20 of the 24 alarms received by the fire department have been successfully installed and the required data has been submitted via the web portal, fire departments will have the ability to request additional smoke alarms and educational materials. Requests will not be processed if previous smoke alarm installation data has not been properly submitted.