Smoke Detectors
Most home fire deaths happen in the middle of the night between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. A smoke detector can save your life by waking you and giving you time to escape. When purchasing a smoke alarm, look for one that is accepted by an independent testing facility such as Underwriters Laboratories or Factory Mutual.
Location, Testing and Maintenance
The best place for your smoke alarms:
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On every level of your home, including the basement and workshop.
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Outside every bedroom.
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On the ceiling or on the wall, 6 to 12 inches below the ceiling. Keep detectors away from air vents.
Check the alarm batteries once a month by pressing the test button with your finger. The batteries should be replaced once a year.
You should clean the alarm by following the manufacturer’s instructions. The grillwork on the detector should be vacuumed periodically to keep it dust-free.
Preventing Nuisance Alarms
To prevent false alarms, move the detector away from a kitchen or bathroom. You may also want to consider purchasing a smoke alarm, like a photoelectric, that’s less sensitive to common causes of false alarms. Some smoke alarms also are equipped with a silencing feature, so that nuisance alarms can be stopped quickly and easily.
Smoke Detector Frequently Asked Questions:
How Many Smoke Detectors Do I Need?
NFPA recommends that you have one smoke detector on every level of your house, as well as one near all of the sleeping areas in your home. For example, if your sleeping areas are nestled together in a wing of the house, one smoke detector in the hallway would probably sound loud enough to awaken anyone sleeping. However, if your sleeping areas are on separate ends of the hallway, you will want to invest in a second smoke detector to protect that separate bedroom.
The best way to make sure that you have enough smoke detectors is to listen to them yourself. If there are any areas in the house where the sound from an activated smoke detector is faint, muffled, or difficult to hear, or if anyone in your family does not wake up when a smoke detector sounds, you probably need additional smoke detectors.
Remember, even a working smoke detector can't get you out of danger's way -- be sure that you have and practice a home escape plan!
Where Should I Put Up Smoke Detectors In My House?
Your smoke detector should be positioned in your house ideally on the ceiling, or on the wall, between 4-6 inches away from the ceiling-wall intersection.
Install your smoke detector
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On the ceiling, at least six inches away from the wall. A fire can often "trap" pockets of air where the wall and the ceiling meet -- smoke might never reach the smoke detector in this "dead air space" |
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20 feet away from "sources of combustion particles" (stoves, furnace, water heater). |
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Away from the kitchen. A smoke detector too close to the kitchen might frequently signal false alarms. |
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10 feet away from bathrooms or other damp, humid areas. The steam can often set off false alarms. |
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In areas where the temperature is between 40 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Colder or warmer temperatures (like the temperatures in an attic) might set off false alarms and also shorten the life of the smoke detector's battery. |
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If the ceilings are sloped, peaked, or gabled -- 3 feet from the highest point of the ceiling. |
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Do not install your smoke detector:
Where the manufacturer recommends its placement. Read the instructions to be sure that you are placing the unit in the absolute best location.
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In dusty, dirty, or greasy areas. |
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Should I Use Battery or Electric Smoke Detectors? Why Is My Smoke Detector Chirping? Of course, if you properly maintain your smoke detector, you probably won't hear this type of chirping. How Do I Test My Smoke Detector? Are There Smoke Detectors for the Hearing Impaired? If you are installing one of these smoke detectors, follow the instructions on where to locate this detector. You might want to install the smoke detector inside the appropriate bedroom, rather than in the hallway, so that the light will be stronger when anyone is at their most vulnerable: when they are asleep. Also, you might need more than one hearing-impaired smoke detector for the home. Remember, too, that you'll need a hearing-impaired smoke detector when you are sleeping away from home. Hotels and motels usually have hearing-impaired smoke detectors available upon request. Why Won't My Smoke Detector Let Me Cook? If you frequently have false alarms while you are cooking, your smoke detector isn't hinting to you that your cooking is bad. The most common cause for frequent false alarms is a bad placement of the smoke detector. Photo electric smoke detectors are designed to alarm when ever a small amount of "unclear" air passes through its sensors; it cannot tell the difference between thick acrid smoke, dusty air from the workroom, or steam from the bathroom. Moving your smoke detectors to a better location -- away from the kitchen, or bathroom, or a dusty area -- and a good cleaning of the smoke detector will usually solve the problem. If you continue to have problems with your smoke detector please contact the Granite Shoals Fire Department at (830)596-8110. We can assist in installation and maintence of your current system.
Near air vents, ceiling fans, or other drafty areas. Drafts can blow the smoke away from the smoke detector, preventing the smoke detector from sounding.
Both electric smoke detectors and battery-powered smoke detectors have benefits and drawbacks. Battery powered smoke detectors must have regular maintenance, including frequent testing and battery replacement. However, they are easy to install and relatively inexpensive. Electric smoke detectors are much easier maintenance-wise, but must be hard-wired into your house. The NFPA also recommends that you select an electric smoke detector that has a battery back-up; in rare cases, an electrical fire, or a power outage has been known to short out an electric smoke detector, silencing the alarm.
If you hear a faint "chirping" or "beeping" noise approximately every 30 seconds, your smoke detector is probably trying to tell you something: It's hungry! Some smoke detectors are built to sound a warning alarm when the battery power begins to run low. By chirping, the smoke detector is trying to get your attention and convince you to put a new battery inside it.
Your smoke detector's manual should give you detailed instructions on how to test your smoke detector. Usually, this is done by pressing a button in the center of the smoke detector. If you press this button down for a few seconds and it beeps, then the battery should still be working. If the smoke detector does not beep, then replace the battery and test again.
People who are hard-of-hearing also need the protection that smoke detectors provide. Smoke detectors for the hearing impaired are smoke detectors that have a strong strobe light attached to the circuitry. When the smoke detector sense the smoke, the strobe light begins blinking.
(and Other Problems with False Alarms.)
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