Key West Mayor Craig Cates and City Commissioner Billy Wardlow proclaimed Fire Prevention Week at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting at Old City Hall.

Key West Fire Department Capt. Gregory Barroso accepted the proclamation and reminded the community that smoke alarms save lives.

“Please take this as a reminder to check your homes for fire hazards,” he said. “Install smoke alarms in every room of your home, and be certain they work by replacing their batteries.”

Nationwide, U.S. fire departments responded to 369,500 home fires in 2014, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Statistics show that U.S. home fires resulted in 2,745 civilian deaths that year. Tragically, a large percentage of those deaths occurred in homes with no smoke alarms, or in homes where the alarms were not functioning.

This year’s message of Fire Prevention Week is to remind people to not only replace batteries annually, but to replace the alarms at least ever ten years. Alarms have the date of manufacture on the back.

One in five homes equipped with smoke alarms are not fire safe because batteries are missing, disconnected or dead. It is recommended that homes have smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of the home. In addition, residents who have planned and practiced a home fire escape plan are more prepared and will therefore be more likely to survive a fire.