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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.
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110-631F English 12/12/06 3:37 PM Page 2