Smoke Alarm Features
Smoke Alarm
The smoke alarm monitors the air for products of combus- tion that are produced when something is burning or smol- dering. When smoke particles in the smoke sensor reach a specified concentration, the alarm/voice message warning system will sound, and be accompanied by the flashing red LED light. The smoke alarm takes precedence when both smoke and carbon monoxide are present.
NFPA 72 states: Life safety from fire in residential occupan- cies is based primarily on early notification to occupants of the need to escape, followed by the appropriate egress actions by those occupants. Fire warning systems for dwelling units are capable of protecting about half of the occupants in potentially fatal fires. Victims are often inti- mate with the fire, too old or young, or physically or men- tally impaired such that they cannot escape even when warned early enough that escape should be possible. For these people, other strategies such as
•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 unpre- dictable. For maximum protection, Kidde recommends that both Ionization and Photoelectric alarms be installed.
•A battery powered alarm must have a battery of the spec- ified 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.
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