You Need More Fire Alarms

11/18/2021 (Permalink)

Photoelectric alarms detect smoke while a fire is still smoldering.

Smoke Alarms

According to the National Fire Protection Association, there's a 1 in 4 chance that you'll be involved in a home fire serious enough to be reported sometime during your lifetime. When considering the number fires that go unreported in Powell, TN, you'll probably experience at least five. Ready for more facts?

• You only have three to four minutes to get out of a home fire alive.
  
• Smoke detectors don't always catch fast-moving fires.
  
• Three out of five residential fire deaths happened in homes without working smoke alarms.
  
  

Those are pretty serious numbers. Fortunately, many homeowners have at least one fire alarm installed in their homes even without knowing these startling facts. However, those homeowners probably need more alarms.

Install More Detectors

Maybe you have a detector in the kitchen and in the halls outside of the bedrooms in your home. If you do, that's a good start, but it isn't enough. The National Fire Protection Association advises homeowners to install a fire alarm in every bedroom, outside of all sleeping areas, and on every level of the home (including the basement.) That's at least five alarms, more if you have additional bedrooms and if you have a detector in your kitchen.

Replace Smoke Alarms Regularly

If you haven't experienced any fire damage in your home, your alarm has probably collected a pretty thick layer of dust from inattention. You can improve the cleanliness of the detectors and keep your family safer by inspecting the alarm every month, replacing its batteries twice a year, and swapping out your old alarm for a new one every ten years.

Install Two Types of Alarms

Many homeowners aren't aware that there are two types of detectors available. An ionization alarm is triggered by flames and provides a response even when smoke isn't present. Photoelectric alarms detect smoke while a fire is still smoldering. You need both types of alarms in your home.

Your best chance of avoiding fire and smoke damage is to install and maintain each fire alarm in your home according to fire safety standards. More information may be available from firefighters or fire restoration professionals in your community.