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did you know

• an estimated 4.3 million violent crimes, 15.6 million property crimes, and 133,000 personal thefts were committed against u.s. residents age 12 or older in 2009. (us dept of justice)
• victims of burglary offenses suffered an estimated $4.6 billion in lost property in 2009 (fbi)
• burglaries of residential properties accounted for 72.6 percent of all burglary offenses. (fbi)
• about 1 in every 26 households in 2003 were either burglarized or had a member age 12 or older who was victim of a violent crime committed by a stranger. source: us dept. of justice
• in 2003 there were 2,153,464 burglaries in the us . source: fbi
• homes with smoke alarms typically have a death rate that is 40-50% less than the rate for homes without alarms. in one-quarter of the reported fires in homes equipped with smoke alarms, the devices did not work. households with non-working smoke alarms now out number those with no smoke alarms. source: national fire protection association
• why do smoke alarms fail? most often because of missing, disconnected or dead batteries. roughly 70% of home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. source: national fire protection association
• in 2003, there were 388,500 reported home fires in the united states , resulting in 3,145 deaths, 13,650 injuries and $5.9 billion in direct property damage. nationwide, there was a civilian home fire death every 3 hours.   source: national fire protection association
• every year, over 200 people in the united states die from carbon monoxide (co) produced by fuel-burning appliances (furnaces, ranges, water heaters, room heaters). others die from co produced while burning charcoal inside a home, garage, vehicle or tent. still others die from co produced by cars left running in attached garages. several thousand people go to hospital emergency rooms for treatment for co poisoning. source: epa
• carbon monoxide (co) is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. it is produced by the incomplete burning of solid, liquid, and gaseous fuels. appliances fueled with natural gas, liquefied petroleum (lp gas), oil, kerosene, coal, or wood may produce co. burning charcoal produces co. running cars produce co. source: epa
• every year thousands of homes are damaged by sump pump failure or frozen water pipes. insurance companies encourage homeowners to install detection devices that can prevent costly home damage.