HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (WSAV) — More than a dozen family members are displaced from their mobile home on Hilton Head Island. The home on Alfred Lane near Spanish Wells Road caught fire on Tuesday night around 7:30.

“Smoke alarms are the number one way to just basically save your life in the event of a fire,” said Russell Rodgers, Deputy Fire Marshall for Hilton Head Fire and Rescue.

Rogers said smoke alarms are the reason that the family is alive. The family was burning trash outside and soon after, the flames spread to the home, Rogers said.

Fortunately for them, everyone made it out of the home without getting hurt. However, just four months ago, their home wasn’t prepared to handle a fire.

“This, again, was one of the families that we visited back in June,” Rogers said. “They had no smoke alarms. So we went in that day, installed smoke alarms, made sure they were in the proper places.”

Every few months firefighters go door-to-door in neighborhoods that are high risk for fires. They check to make sure smoke alarms are working and will install new ones if the home doesn’t have any.

That program, Fire In The Streets, teaches families how to prepare for fires and how to safely escape them. Firefighters say a lot of families on Hilton Head Island never think they will be the next victim of a house fire.

“We see anywhere from 25 to 40% of the homes that are either not covered at all or inadequately covered,” Rogers said. “They have this false sense of security that they do have them because they saw them there when they bought the home 30 years ago, it was there.”

Rogers said just like this family, being prepared can be the difference between life and death.

“We tell people that you need a plan just like your children plan for fire drills at school. We would like for you to plan and have a fire drill at home.”

If you want firefighters to check your smoke alarms or install new ones give them a call at 843-682-5141.