Firex C, E and PB What Smoke Alarms Will Not Do, Where You Should Install Your Smoke Alarms

WHAT SMOKE ALARMS WILL NOT DO

A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT POWER. Your smoke alarm needs a good battery that is installed correctly to work. A smoke alarm will not work if its battery is missing, dead or put in wrong.

A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT SENSE A FIRE WHEN THE SMOKE CANNOT REACH THE ALARM. If a fire starts in a chimney, wall, roof, the other side of a closed door, or any other isolated area, the smoke alarm may not sense the smoke and will not give a warning. If you do not have an alarm in the bedroom, and sleep with the door closed, a fire inside the bedroom may not sound the alarm located in another room. Therefore, a smoke alarm must be placed both inside and outside all bedrooms. A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT PROMPTLY SENSE A FIRE EXCEPT IN THE AREA OR ROOM IN WHICH THE SMOKE ALARM IS LOCATED.

FOR EXAMPLE:

A.A SMOKE ALARM MAY NOT SENSE A FIRE ON ANOTHER LEVEL OF A RESIDENCE OR BUILDING. A second-floor smoke alarm may not detect a fire on the first floor or in the basement of a building. Therefore, smoke alarms must be installed on every floor or level of your home or building.

B.IF THE SMOKE ALARM IS LOCATED ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL THAN THE BEDROOMS, OR IN AN ISOLATED AREA OF THE HOUSE OR RESIDENCE, IT IS LESS LIKELY TO WAKE UP PEOPLE SLEEPING IN THE BEDROOMS.

You should use both battery-powered and direct-wired 120-volt AC-powered smoke alarms. Since A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT POWER, having alarms that will work from two different power sources can give you extra protection in case of a dead battery, or an AC power failure.

Using a smoke alarm in a smoky area like a kitchen, or in a high humidity area near a shower, can cause false alarms. DO NOT REMOVE YOUR BATTERY TO QUIET THE ALARM. DO NOT TAKE THE ALARM DOWN. DO NOT SHUT OFF THE POWER TO THE ALARM. IF YOU HAVE A FALSE ALARM, TRY WAVING A TOWEL NEAR THE ALARM TO CLEAR THE SENSING CHAMBER. A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT HELP PROTECT YOU IF IT IS NOT POWERED, OR THE UNIT IS REMOVED. An alarm with a FALSE ALARM CONTROL feature should be used to minimize these nuisance alarms, where allowed by state and local codes.

A SMOKE ALARM MAY NOT ALWAYS WARN YOU ABOUT FIRES CAUSED BY CARELESSNESS OR SAFETY HAZARDS SUCH AS SMOKING IN BED, VIOLENT EXPLOSIONS, ESCAPING GAS, IMPROPER STORAGE OF FLAMMABLE MATERIALS, OVERLOADED ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS, NATURAL CAUSES SUCH AS LIGHTNING, CHILDREN PLAYING WITH MATCHES AND ARSON. Fire prevention is your best safeguard.

Installing smoke alarms may make you eligible for lower insurance rates, but SMOKE ALARMS ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR INSURANCE. Home- owners and renters alike should continue to insure their lives and properties.

WHERE YOU SHOULD INSTALL YOUR

SMOKE ALARMS

The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Standard 74, Section 2-1 provides information regarding the smoke detection equipment required within the family unit.

Section 2-1.1.1 reads as follows:

“Smoke detectors shall be installed outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms and on each additional story of the family living unit including basements and excluding crawl spaces and unfinished attics.

The provisions of 2-1.1.1 represent the minimum number of detectors required by this standard. It is recommended that the householder consider the use of additional smoke or heat detectors for increased protection for those areas separated by a door from the areas protected by the required smoke detectors under 2-1.1.1 above. The recommended additional areas are the living room, dining room, bedroom(s), kitchen, attic (finished or unfinished), furnace room, utility room, basement, garage (attached or unattached), and hallways not included in Section 2-1.1.1 above. However, the use of additional detectors remains the option of the householder.”

This equipment should be installed in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association’s Standard 74, NFPA, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269.

THIS STANDARD MEANS YOU SHOULD INSTALL AND USE A SMOKE ALARM IN EVERY ROOM AND AREA OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD OR BUILDING FOR GOOD PROTECTION.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WILL HELP YOU SAFELY LOCATE YOUR SMOKE ALARMS:

•Do install your smoke alarms in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations, standards and codes.

•Do install a smoke alarm in the hallway outside of every bedroom area. If the bedroom has a door, there must be a smoke alarm inside and outside the bedroom. See Figure 1. If your home or residence has two bedroom areas, a smoke alarm must be placed outside the second bedroom area, and inside the bedroom(s) if they have doors. See Figure 2.

2