South-west residents have been urged to install smoke alarms in bedrooms.
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Country Fire Authority community engagement co-ordinator for the south-west Mandy Maglaras said having smoke alarms in sleeping areas offered the best chance of surviving a fire.
"In the past 10 years there have been 79 deaths in residential house fires - 22 of those were from fires that started in seeping areas," Ms Maglaras said.
She said when asleep, a person's sense of smell weakens, which meant your chances of smelling smoke were very low.
"If your bedroom door is shut and a fire starts in your sleeping area, you may never wake up," Ms Maglaras said.
"Only a smoke alarm in your bedroom will alert you to the danger of fire."
Ms Maglaras said the CFA and Metropolitian Fire Brigade had issued new recommendations to install a smoke alarm in every bedroom and every living area as a result of research conducted by fire agencies across Australia.
She said the CFA recommended the use of smoke alarms powered by long-life lithium batteries.
In addition to that, the best option is smoke alarms that are interconnected - which means if one is set off, all detectors sound.
"Smoke alarms, including those attached to mains power, should be replaced in accordance with manufacturer's specifications - generally after 10 years," Ms Maglaras said.
She said smoke alarms should be tested once a month and cleaned with a vacuum cleaner at least once a year.
"Everyone needs to understand the risks and take action to make their home fire-safe," Ms Maglaras said.
"You should have a smoke alarm in every bedroom and living room."
Victoria's Minister for Police and Emergency Services Lisa Neville said silence was deadly in the event of a fire.
"Keep yourself and your family safe by regularly testing your smoke alarms, replacing the batteries annually and making sure all alarms in the house are interconnected," Ms Neville said.
A survey of more than 2500 Victorians last month found only 16 per cent of people had smoke alarms in their bedrooms - a statistic CFA chief officer Steve Warrington described as "concerning".
Just 11 per cent of the survey respondents, all aged 18-64, had interconnected alarms and 22 per cent had only one smoke alarm in their home.
Warrnambool Fire Brigade acting commander Greg Kinross said there had been deaths in homes throughout the region which could have been prevented with a working smoke alarm.
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