The Importance of Smoke Alarms in Your Home

Here’s what you need to know about smoke alarms in your home:

• A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire. Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area. Install alarms on every level of the home. Smoke alarms should be interconnected. When one sounds, they all sound.
• Test your smoke alarms at least once a month.
• When a smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside.
• Replace all smoke alarms in your home every 10 years. To determine the age of your smoke alarm, look at the back where you will find the date of manufacture. Smoke alarms should be replaced 10 years from the date of manufacture.
• Immediately replace any smoke alarm that does not respond properly when tested.
• Replace combination smoke-carbon monoxide alarms according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

It is important to have enough smoke alarms in your home. Fire research has demonstrated that fires can spread much more rapidly with today’s modern furnishings, than in the past when we used more natural materials. As a result of this, having the appropriate number of properly located smoke alarms is vital to maximize the escape time available . Smoke alarms should be installed inside every room where people sleep (even for existing homes) in addition to outside each sleeping area and should be on every level of the home. (for larger homes, additional smoke alarms are required.) Homes built to earlier standards don’t always meet these minimum requirements. Homeowners should recognize that detection needs are not the same and have changed over the years. Take proactive steps to make sure that your home has a sufficient complement of smoke alarms. Call on Handyman Connection of red Deer today and we can help make sure your home has the protection it needs in the event of a fire emergency.