Over and over each year, the tragic scene is played out: a fire takes place in an American home while the occupants sleep. When firefighters control the blaze, they make the sickening discovery that one or more people died because they failed to wake up in time to get out. The most recent figures available are for the year 1995, when 3,695 non-firefighters lost their lives in home fires in the USA. At least 80% of those people were in homes without a working smoke detector.

In 1978, U.S. home fire deaths peaked at more than 6,000 lives lost. During the late 70's and the early 80's, more and more families were installing smoke detectors in their homes. Overall, the numbers of deaths declined, to a low of 3,500 in 1991. Since then, the losses have risen slightly. Why?

Experts say there are two reasons for losing so many lives. First, even though 7 out of 8 American homes has a smoke detector, it is believed that one fourth of them do not work, most because of dead or missing batteries. Second, those detectors installed in the 70's and 80's are aging. Detectors over 10 years old may not function correctly, even if they sound when tested. Let’s look at the basics of good smoke detector protection.

HOW MANY AND WHERE?

The minimum protection for a home is one detector outside each sleeping area and one on each level of the home. The fires most likely to be deadly are the ones which occur while we sleep. It is the detector’s job to wake you in time to escape. To do that job, it has to be placed in the area where you sleep. Often the best location is the hallway ceiling, outside the bedrooms. There the detector has a chance to warn of smoke coming from any other part of the home. If the home has more than one sleeping area, then it will need additional detectors. If there is more than one level (basement, second story, etc.), more detectors will be required.

Better protection can be had cheaply by adding detectors on the ceilings of the bedrooms themselves. Now, the persons sleeping in those bedrooms can be warned of a fire which starts in the bedroom itself, even with the door closed.

Smoke rises, so a ceiling location affords the earliest possible warning. Try for the middle of the room, staying away from edges and corners. If you must wall mount a detector, place it at least 4 inches, but no more than 12 inches, from the ceiling. Remember that corners make dead air spaces which are slower to receive the smoke.

There are a few areas you should avoid when placing a smoke detector. They should not be placed where incoming fresh air could prevent smoke from reaching the detector. Examples are close to a window, or in the draft of an air conditioner, which blows outside air. Detectors which are too close to a bathroom may give false alarms when water vapor from a shower reaches them. The detectors "read" particles and cannot distinguish between smoke particles and water particles. Of course, detectors placed close to a kitchen are subject to false alarms. We may not even see the smoke from a toaster, for example, before the detector alarms. This can be a problem in a small apartment, where "outside the bedroom" means close to the kitchen. Detectors which often give false alarms wind up being disabled.

WHAT TYPE OF DETECTOR?

Smoke detectors are classified two ways: by the way they detect smoke and by their power sources. The photo electric smoke detector uses a tiny light source to determine when particles of smoke enter its detection chamber. This type may be slightly quicker to detect a smoldering fire. Ionizing smoke detectors use a small safe radioactive pellet to detect particles. Ionizing detectors may be slightly quicker to detect a fast burning fire. The National Fire Protection Association says that, in most home fires, the difference in detection time between the two types is slight. Ionizing detectors are less expensive and easier to find, so they are much more common.

Smoke detectors of today use either household electric current or a 9 volt battery as a power source. Each has its advantages. The battery type is easy to install in an existing home, taking no special wiring. It will continue to work in case of a power failure. Home fires often trip circuit breakers. The 110 volt type needs no battery replacement. Dead batteries are believed to be responsible for rendering many of our detectors useless. If your home already has the wiring circuit for a smoke detector, you may want to install a detector which is 110 volt powered, with battery back up. Then you will have the best of both systems. People in Roswell buy this type of replacement detector for under $20.00 at the Samon’s Do-It Yourself Center.

SO HOW DO I TAKE CARE OF IT?

Test your detector! Stand on a chair, use a broom handle, or ask your tall teenager to push the button. Hear it beep at least once a month. This is just as necessary with 110 volt detectors as it is with the battery type. They are subject to failure also.

If it has battery power, replace the battery once a year. Buy a good alkaline 9 volt with a freshness date on the package. Be sure the contacts snap into place all the way. With a loose contact, it may sound a test beep. Slamming the front door, however, will jar it enough to separate the battery from its connector.

Gently dust your friend, the smoke detector, using your vacuum cleaner, once a year. Dust can cause false alarms and it can foul the detection chamber.

Finally, keep in mind that a carbon monoxide detector does not take the place of a smoke detector. Check back in late summer and we will tell you more about those CO detectors.