SMOKE DETECTORS
A properly installed and maintained smoke alarm is the first thing in your home that can alert you and your family to a fire 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Home fire sprinklers can also alert you, but are a few seconds slower than smoke alarms. Whether you’re awake or asleep, a working smoke alarm is constantly on alert, scanning the air for fire and smoke.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in properties without working smoke alarms. A working smoke alarm significantly increases your chances of surviving a deadly home fire.
What Powers A Smoke Detector?
Smoke alarms are powered by battery or by your home’s electrical system. If the smoke alarm is powered by battery, it runs on either a disposable 9-volt battery or a non-replaceable 10-year lithium (“long-life”) battery. Alarms that get power from your home’s electrical system, or “hardwired,” usually have a back-up battery that will need to be replaced once a year.
Simple Smoke Detector Placement
- Put smoke alarms on every floor of your home. Also, in every bedroom and in the hallway outside of each sleeping area.
- Choose smoke alarms that communicate with each other, so that if one alarm sounds they all will.
- Place smoke alarms on the ceiling or high on the wall. Check the manufacturer’s instructions for the best place for your alarm.
- Only qualified electricians should install hardwired smoke alarms.
Maintenance
Is your smoke alarm still working? A smoke alarm with a dead or missing battery is the same as having no smoke alarm at all.
A smoke alarm only works when it is properly installed and regularly maintained. Maintain your smoke alarms according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Below are some general maintenance tips.
9 Volt Battery
- Test the alarm monthly.
- Replace the batteries at least once every year.
- Replace the entire smoke alarm every 10 years.
10 Year Lithium
- Test the alarm monthly.
- Since you cannot (and should not) replace the lithium battery, replace the entire smoke alarm according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Hardwired
- Test the alarm monthly.
- Replace the backup battery at least once every year.
- Replace the entire smoke alarm every 10 years.
What To Do When Your Detector Goes Off While Cooking
Never disable a smoke alarm while cooking! If a smoke alarm sounds while you’re cooking or taking a shower with lots of steam, do not remove the battery. You should:
- Open a window or door and press the “hush” button.
- Wave a towel at the alarm to clear the air.
- Move the entire alarm several feet away from the kitchen or bathroom.
Disabling a smoke alarm or removing the battery can be a deadly mistake.
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