Giving You Time to Get Out
Smoke alarms save lives. Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast and you need smoke alarms to give you time to get out.
Safety Tips
- Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.
- Smoke rises, so install smoke alarms following the manufacturer's instructions high on a wall or on a ceiling.
- Save manufacturer's instructions for testing and maintenance.
- Replace batteries in all smoke alarms at least once a year. If an alarm “chirps,” it is warning you that the battery is low. Replace the battery right away.
- Replace all smoke alarms, including alarms that use 10-year batteries and hard-wired alarms, when they are 10 years old or sooner if they do not respond properly.
- Be sure the smoke alarm has the label of a recognized testing laboratory.
- Alarms that are hard-wired (and include battery backup) must be installed by a qualified electrician.
- If cooking fumes or steam sets off nuisance alarms, replace the alarm with an alarm that has a "hush" button. A "hush" button will reduce the alarm’s sensitivity for a short period of time.
- An ionization alarm with a hush button or a photoelectric alarm should be used if the alarm is within 20 feet of a cooking appliance.
- Smoke alarms that include a recordable voice announcement in addition to the usual alarm sound may be helpful in waking children through the use of a familiar voice.
- Smoke alarms are available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. These devices use strobe lights. Vibration devices can be added to these alarms
- Smoke alarms are an important part of a home fire escape plan.
Recognizing the Sound of a Smoke Detector Alarm
The National Fire Prevention Association is aware of research indicating that sleeping children don't always wake up when a smoke alarm activates. While this research is worrisome, we should not allow it to obscure the fact that smoke alarms are highly effective at reducing fire deaths and injuries.
Value of Smoke Detectors
NFPA would like to reaffirm the value of the smoke alarms already available to protect people from home fire deaths and voice its concern about the number of U.S. households without these early warning devices. While 96 percent of American homes have at least one smoke alarm, no smoke alarms were present, or none operated in 2 in 5 (41 percent) of the reported home fires between 2003-06. Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
Practicing Your Home Fire Escape Plan
NFPA emphasizes the need to continue planning and practicing home fire escape plans and to make sure everyone in a home can be awakened by the sound of the smoke alarm. NFPA suggests practicing the escape plan during which the smoke alarm is activated so all family members know its sound.
Roles of Family Members
Every home fire escape plan is different, and every family should know who will and who won't wake up at the sound of the smoke alarm. If someone doesn't wake up when the alarm sounds during a drill, the family should design an escape plan that assigns a grown-up who is easily awakened by the alarm to wake the sleepers, perhaps by yelling "fire," pounding on the wall or door or blowing a whistle.