Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The smoke detector has become a fixture in nearly every home in the United States.
And the use of the fairly inexpensive device has reduced the number of fire-related injuries and deaths in this country.
However, millions of homes have smoke detectors that are dysfunctional, many times because of old batteries or insufficient cleaning.
Fire is the second leading cause of unintentional deaths inside the home. Each year close to 3,000 people are killed in residential fires. Most of the deaths are not caused by burns, but by victims being overcome after inhaling smoke and toxic gases. Many of these deaths occur at night when victims are sleeping.
Not surprisingly, smoke alarms are one of the best and most inexpensive ways to detect fires early and to warn occupants of potentially dangerous situations. Since smoke alarms detect most fires in their early stages of development, the risk of death and serious injury is greatly reduced in homes with properly working devices. In fact, the risk of dying from a fire in a home without a smoke alarm is twice as high as in one with a working smoke detector.
There are two main types of smoke alarms: ionization detectors and photoelectric detectors.
Ionization detectors are the most common type of detectors because they are inexpensive and better at detecting small amounts of smoke. Ionization detectors have a chamber that contains two plates with a voltage across them. Even a small amount of smoke disturbs the current between the plates, triggering the alarm to sound.
Photoelectric detectors use light to detect larger amounts of smoke. Smoke causes a light inside the device to connect with a sensor, causing the alarm to sound.
According to both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Underwriters Laboratories, smoke alarms should be installed on every floor of a home, and they should be mounted high on the wall or ceiling. For best results, wall-mounted alarms should be placed 4-12 inches from the ceiling, and ceiling-mounted alarms should be put at least four inches from the wall. Alarms in rooms with vaulted ceilings should be mounted on the highest part of the ceiling. Smoke alarms should not be installed near doors, windows or forced-air registers because drafts can interfere with their operation.
People who sleep with their bedroom doors closed also should install a smoke alarm inside the room.
Once installed, smoke alarms should be tested monthly, and the batteries changed at least once a year. If the alarm begins making a chirping sound, the battery should be changed as soon as possible. The most common reasons smoke alarms fail are missing batteries, dead batteries or disconnected batteries.
Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years.
Many people disconnect or remove batteries from smoke alarms because of "nuisance" alarms caused by cooking or showering. These nuisance alarms can be prevented with regular proper cleaning to remove dust and other pollutants from the device. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to ensure proper cleaning.
