Smoke Detector Safety

When working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are present in your home, the risk of dying in a home fire is cut by over 60 percent, according to the National Fire Protection Association. You can prevent tragedies simply by testing and maintaining your alarms and practicing a fire escape plan.

According to a recent US Consumer Product Safety Commission survey, nearly all US households (98.6 percent) have at least one smoke alarm, and over half have a carbon monoxide alarm in addition (54.9 percent)... But that doesn’t mean they work. All alarms in your house should be tested once a month, and their batteries replaced annually. Every family should also develop a fire escape plan, and practice it at least twice a year. These measures will increase your protection in case of a fire.

Alarm Recommendations

• • Install a working smoke alarm on every level of the home, outside sleeping areas, and inside bedrooms.
  • Make sure alarms are placed either on the ceiling or 6-12 inches below the ceiling on the wall. 
  • Locate smoke alarms away from air vents or registers; high air flow or dead air spaces are to be avoided. 
  • Test your smoke alarms at least once a month per manufacturer's instructions.
  • Replace smoke alarm batteries at least annually, such as when resetting clocks in the fall or spring.

Never disable your smoke alarm, even if you experience "nuisance" alarms while cooking or showering. If nuisance alarms are a persistent problem, you may need to look for a different type of smoke alarm. 

Age-Dependent Responsiveness to Smoke Alarm Signals 

Residential fires are an important cause of injury and death in the United States, and children have a higher residential fire fatality rate than teenagers and adults. Smoke alarms represent a core prevention strategy; however, when residential alarms were initially developed, the focus was on detection technologies for smoke or heat, with little attention directed toward effectiveness of the alerting signal, including during sleep. Although the high-frequency tone alarms found in most households awaken adults, they are not adequately effective in waking children, older individuals, and those with special needs. Because of this, parents and caregivers must incorporate this possibility into the home fire escape plan.