Fire Prevention Week is October 9th through the 15th and Illinois DCFS is asking families to take time this week to create and practice your fire escape plan.  In October of 2019, DCFS launched a statewide program to provide free smoke alarms to families served by the department and distributed 3,154 smoke alarms to families across Illinois including nearly 900 this year.  

Illinois DCFS Director Marc D. Smith says that keeping children safe is the #1 priority of the DCFS. He encourages all families to have a plan in place and to practice that plan. According to theNational Fire Protection Association, three out of every five home fire deaths result from fires in properties without working smoke alarms.  More than 1/3 of home fire deaths result from fires in which no smoke alarms are present, and the risk of dying from a home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms.

Illinois law requires every home to have smoke alarms within 15 feet of every bedroom and at least one on each floor of the home.  Families served by DCFS may request smoke alarms from their caseworker. For more information, visit www.fpw.org.