Smoke alarms at home
Smoke alarms are a key part of a home fire escape plan. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast. Working smoke alarms give you early warning so you can get outside quickly.
Safety tips
- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom. They should also be outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. Install alarms in the basement.
- Large homes may need extra smoke alarms.
- It is best to use interconnected smoke alarms. When one smoke alarm sounds, they all sound.
- Test all smoke alarms at least once a month. Press the test button to be sure the alarm is working.
- Current alarms on the market employ different types of technology including multi-sensing, which could include smoke and carbon monoxide combined.
- Today’s smoke alarms will be more technologically advanced to respond to a multitude of fire conditions, yet mitigate false alarms.
- A smoke alarm should be on the ceiling or high on a wall. Keep smoke alarms away from the kitchen to reduce false alarms. They should be at least 10 feet (3 meters) from the stove.
- People who are hard-of-hearing or deaf can use special alarms. These alarms have strobe lights and bed shakers.
- Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old.
For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing
Working smoke alarms save lives. However, people who are deaf or hard of hearing may not be able to depend on the traditional smoke alarm to alert them to a fire.
- Smoke alarms and alert devices are available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
- Strobe lights flash when the smoke alarm sounds. The lights warn people of a possible fire.
- When people who are deaf are asleep, a pillow or bed shaker can wake them so they can escape. The shaker is activated by the sound of a smoke alarm.
- When people who are hard of hearing are asleep, an alert device that uses a loud, mixed, low-pitched sound can wake them. They may find a pillow or bed shaker helpful. These devices are triggered by the sound of the smoke alarm.
- Research the products and select the ones that best meet your needs.
Where to find equipment
Search home improvement store websites or use a general search engine to look for strobe light smoke alarms. BRK/First Alert, Gentex, and Kidde brands offer this type of smoke alarm. Find smoke alarm accessories such as pillow or bed shakers, transmitters, and receivers at:
Choose devices that have the label of a recognized testing laboratory.
Facts
- A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire.
- Smoke alarms should be installed inside every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level. Smoke alarms should be connected so when one sounds, they all sound. Most homes do not have this level of protection.
- Roughly 3 out of 5 fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
- Home fire sprinklers keep fires small. This gives people more time to escape in a fire.
Don’t forget
Test all smoke alarms at least once a month using the test button.
Source
This information is from the National Fire Protection Association – the leading information and knowledge resource on fire, electrical and related hazards.
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