On Saturday, from 9 a.m. – noon, firefighters will canvas homes in selected neighborhoods throughout Fairfax County, checking for working smoke alarms, and provide family fire escape plans for residents.

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department partners with the U.S. Fire Administration in supporting the Install. Inspect. Protect. campaign. The initiative emphasizes “Smoke Alarms Save Lives.”

More than 3,000 people die in home fires each year in the United States; most of whom are in homes without a working smoke alarm. A working, properly installed smoke alarm lowers your chances of dying in a fire. According to the National Fire Protection Association, between 2003 and 2006, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

The smoke alarms that will be provided were made available by a grant from the Virginia Department of Fire Programs to Fairfax County as recipients of the “Get Alarmed” program.