Kidde I9070 manual Limitations of Smoke Alarms

7. Limitations of Smoke Alarms

WARNING: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AND THOROUGHLY

•NFPA 72 states: Fire-warning equipment for residential occupancies are capable of protecting about half of the occupants in potentially fatal fires. Victims are often intimate with the fire, too old or too young, or physically or mentally impaired such that they cannot escape even when warned early enough that escape should be possi- ble. For these people, other strategies such as protection-in-place or assisted escape or rescue would be necessary.

•Smoke alarms are devices that can provide early warning of possible fires at a reasonable cost; however, alarms have sensing limitations. Ionization sensing alarms may detect invisible fire particles (associated with fast flaming fires) sooner than photoelectric alarms. Photoelectric sensing alarms may detect visible fire particles (associated with slow smoldering fires) sooner than ionization alarms. Home fires develop in different ways and are often unpredictable. For maximum protection, Kidde recommends that both Ionization and Photoelectric alarms be installed.

•A battery powered alarm must have a battery of the specified type, in good condition and installed properly.

•AC powered alarms (without battery backup) will not operate if the AC power has been cut off, such as by an electrical fire or an open fuse.

•Smoke alarms must be tested regularly to make sure the batteries and the alarm circuits are in good operating condition.

•Smoke alarms cannot provide an alarm if smoke does not reach the alarm. Therefore, smoke alarms may not sense fires starting in chim- neys, walls, on roofs, on the other side of a closed door or on a differ- ent floor.

•If the alarm is located outside the sleeping room or on a different floor, it may not wake up a sound sleeper.

•The use of alcohol or drugs may also impair one’s ability to hear the smoke alarm. For maximum protection, a smoke alarm should be installed in each sleeping area on every level of a home.

•Although smoke alarms can help save lives by providing an early warning of a fire, they are not a substitute for an insurance policy. Home owners and renters should have adequate insurance to protect their lives and property.