Fire and Rescue NSW has revealed almost half of the NSW homes impacted by fire this winter have not had a working smoke alarm.
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After responding to more than 500 residential fires since June 1, FRNSW are urging residents to take action and to check their smoke alarms.
Tragically, 13 people have lost their lives in fires so far this winter - nine more fire fatalities than all of last winter.
50 fire-related injuries have also been reported.
Duty commander at the Lower Hunter zone office, inspector Steve Perkins said testing alarms and checking that they're working is the number one thing.
"It only takes three minutes for a fire to take hold in your home," he said.
"You cannot smell smoke in your sleep, that is why a working smoke alarm will half the risk of fatality in a house fire."
Insp Perkins said he has noticed a surge in people contacting fire stations to get more information about smoke alarms in the past week, which he encourages very much.
"As a response to that, we make ourselves available to do home fire safety visits to anybody who's interested," he said.
"It's tragic that we've had 13 fire fatalities this year and we're absolutely committed to reducing the fatality rate.
"We encourage all residents to take action, to check their smoke alarms and contact us at our fire stations if they have any questions."
Fire and Rescue NSW will be out and about door knocking in Weston next week to spread the message about home fire safety.
For more information about fire safety in winter, head to www.fire.nsw.gov.au/winter, or call the Lower Hunter zone Fire and Rescue office on 4015 4000.
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