Safety Tips

ALERT YOUR FAMILY TO DANGER
The primary fire safety strategy for any home is to warn the occupants early and get everyone out as quickly as possible.  The best way to get the earliest warning of danger is by installing enough smoke alarms.  Homes should have a smoke alarm near the bedrooms, but not so close to the kitchen that you have problems with alarms from cooking.  It's a good idea to have a smoke alarm in each bedroom, especially if you sleep with the door closed.

CO usually comes from faulty heating appliances but may also come from fireplaces or cars running in attached garages.  CO cannot be seen, tasted or smelled, so the only way to detect a CO problem is to have a CO alarm.  CO alarms should be located near the bedrooms.

If your smoke or CO alarm sounds, get eveyone outside.

WHAT KINDS ARE THERE?
There are two kinds of smoke alarms -- ionization and photoelectric.  The ionization smoke detectors activate quicker for fast, flaming fires and the photoelectric type is quicker for slow, smoldering fires.  Either one will provide you enough time to get out, but having a mix of the two types is a good idea.  Models with both sensors are better than single sensor units, but of course they cost more.

Smoke alarms are powered either by household current (ac), a battery, or ac with a battery that keeps it operating during power outages.  The battery type is easy to install in existing homes but the battery must be changed annually.  Building codes for new homes require ac powered alarms with battery backup.  For greater safety, older ac only smoke alarms should be replaced with ac/battery alarm and new codes requires any smoke alarm older than 10 years to be replaced.

Many local building codes now require CO alarms when a home uses gas or oil, or has a fireplace.  CO alarms are also powered either by household current, a battery or ac with a battery.  Most CO comes from equipment that will not be working during a power outage so plug in units are good.  But if you might heat your home with a fireplace, wood stove, or kerosene heater when the power is out, you may want to use a battery-powered alarm.  The sensor element in some CO alarms must be replaced regularly.  Consider the cost of the replacement element in making your selection.

Is a smoke detector really necessary in your home? 
Absolutely!  Smoke detectors are proven lifesavers.  More fatal fires occur at night when people are sleeping.  Fire produces toxic gases which can numb your senses and prevent you from reacting to a fire in your home.

Installation:

• Install a smoke detector on each level of your home.
• The detector should be centrally located between the bedrooms.
• If there is more than one sleeping area, place smoke detector outside each sleeping area.

• Install a smoke alarm and check it regularly.
• Make a fire action plan so that everyone in your house knows how to escape in the event of a fire.
• Take care when cooking with hot oil and think about using thermostatically controlled deep fat fryers.
• Never leave lit candles unattended.
• Ensure cigarettes are stubbed out and disposed of carefully.
• Never smoke in bed.
• Keep matches and lighters away from children.
• Keep clothing away from heating appliances.
• Take care in the kitchen!  Accidents while cooking, account for 59% of fires in the home.
• Take special care when you are tired or when you've been drinking.  Half of all deaths in domestic fires happen between 10 pm and 8 am.