Prince George, B.C. – Fire Prevention Week in B.C. comes with a timely word of advice: working smoke alarms save lives.

Fire Prevention Week runs from Oct. 4-10, 2015, and it accentuates the need for working alarms throughout the home, including in every bedroom as about half of residential fire deaths occur between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when residents are asleep.

Fire preparedness activities will take place at fire halls and schools across the province over the next week along with a social media campaign delivered through Twitter, aimed at providing fire safety tips to all British Columbians.

Fire Prevention Week aims to draw public awareness to fire safety and provides an opportunity to review evacuation plans, practice fire drills, test the batteries in fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, and ensure fire extinguishers are serviced and functioning.

On average, one British Columbian is injured by fire every 44 hours in the province and the Fire Chiefs’ Association of British Columbia research suggests that fatality rates rise 74% when a working smoke alarm is not present.