Despite a smoke alarm costing less than 100 kroner, 27 percent of Danes don’t have one in their homes, according to a joint survey by safety foundation TrygFonden, emergency authority Beredskabsstyrelsen and the energy authority Energistyrelsen.
Furthermore, the survey found that almost a quarter of Danes who don’t have a smoke alarm in their homes have purchased one, but have yet to mount it.
“A smoke alarm is very cheap life insurance. It can’t prevent a fire, but it can prevent a fire from spreading and it can make sure that people quickly get out of a burning building,” said René Højer, TrygFonden’s regional head of safety.
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Careless youth
The problem is particularly prevalent among young people, so TrygFonden has decided to launch a campaign aimed at young people who have just moved away from their parents.
The survey also revealed that 360,000 Danes had experienced a fire in their own homes within the last five years. During the same period there have been 25,000 firefighter responses.
Just 8 percent of Danes have a plan for what to do should a fire occur in their home – a figure that Trygfonden also wants to improve.
