Statistics and background on the effectiveness of smoke alarms in homes. Abstract According to a telephone survey, 96-97% of US households have at least one smoke alarm, yet in 2007-2011, smoke alarms were present in only three quarters (73%) of all reported home fires and operated in half (52%) of all reported home fires. (“Homes” include one- and two-family homes, apartments, and manufactured housing.) More than one-third (37%) of all home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms, while almost one-quarter (23%) resulted from fires in homes in which smoke alarms were present but did not operate. When […]