![\"home](\"http:\/\/www.blisstree.com\/files\/2009\/12\/homesafety.jpg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\nIt has always been important to have working smoke alarms in our homes, but the economy has made them even more essential. A Baltimore man<\/a> who perished in a house fire may have done so simply because budget cuts slowed down emergency personnel response times. The firefighters had to come from a firehouse that wasn\u2019t closed instead of the nearby firehouse, which was closed for the night to save money. If you hate to test your alarms or seem to always forget to do so, consider having several hardwired alarms installed in your home to back up the battery operated models. <\/p>\n Another important alarm for your home is a carbon monoxide detector. These detectors can alert you to dangerous leaks or malfunctioning equipment. We installed ours shortly after we discovered that my grandparents had a close call with a faulty water heater. They had no idea that carbon monoxide was filling their home. Fortunately, the water heater started to leak and the service person they called in discovered the gas problem in time. <\/p>\n Do you have smoke and carbon monoxide detectors? If so, do you test your battery operated models?<\/p>\n Photo: K Thomas<\/p>\n Post from: Blisstree<\/a><\/p>\n