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REGULA
TORY INFORMATION FOR SMOKE ALARMS
RECOMMENDED LOCA
TIONS FOR SMOKE ALARMS
Installing Smoke Alar
ms in Single-Family Residences
The National Fir
e Protection Association (NFPA), recommends one
Smoke Alarm on every floor, in every sleeping area, and in every bed-
r
oom. In new construction, the Smoke Alarms must be AC powered and
inter
connected. See “Agency Placement Recommendations” for details.
For additional coverage, it is recommended that you install a Smoke
Alarm in all r
ooms, halls, storage areas, finished attics, and basements,
wher
e temperatures normally remain between 40˚ F (4˚ C) and 100˚ F
(38˚ C). Make sure no door or other obstruction could keep smoke from
r
eaching the Smoke Alarms.
Mor
e specifically, install Smoke Alarms:
•
On every level of your home, including finished attics and basements.
• Inside every bedroom, especially if people sleep with the door partly
or completely closed.
•
In the hall near every sleeping area. If your home has multiple
sleeping ar
eas, install a unit in each. If a hall is more than 40 feet
long (12 meters), install a unit at each end.
• At the top of the first-to-second floor stairway, and at the bottom of
the basement stairway
.
Specific r
equirements for Smoke Alarm installation vary from state to
state and fr
om region to region. Check with your local Fire Department
for current requirements in your area.
It is recommended AC or AC/DC
units be inter
connected for added protection.
9
INSTALLING SMOKE ALARMS IN MOBILE HOMES &
RVS
For minimum security install one Smoke Alarm as close to each sleeping
area as possible. For more security, put one unit in each room. Many
older mobile homes (especially those built before 1978) have little or no
insulation. If your mobile home is not well insulated, or if you are unsure
of the amount of insulation, it is important to install units on inside walls
only. Smoke Alarms should be installed where temperatures normally
remain between 40˚ F (4˚ C) and 100˚ F (38˚ C).
WARNING: Test units
used in RVs after the vehicle has been in storage, before every trip,
and once a week while in use. Failure to test units used in RVs as
described may remove your protection.
This equipment should be installed in accordance with NFPA (National
Fire Protection Association) 72 and 101. National Fire Protection
Association, One Batterymar
ch Park, Quincy
, MA 02269-9101.
Additional
local building and regulatory codes may apply in your area. Always
check compliance requirements before beginning any installation.
AGENCY PLACEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
NFP
A 72 (National Fire Code)
Smoke Alarms shall be installed in each separate sleeping r
oom, outside
each 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.
In new construction, Alarms shall be so arranged that operation of any
one Alarm shall cause the operation of all Alarms within the dwelling.
Smoke Detection-Ar
e Mor
e Smoke Alar
ms Desirable?
The r
equir
ed
number of Smoke Alarms might not provide reliable early warning
pr
otection for those ar
eas separated by a door fr
om the areas protected
by the required Smoke Alarms. For this reason, it is recommended that
the householder consider the use of additional Smoke Alarms for those
ar
eas for incr
eased pr
otection. The additional ar
eas include the base
-
ment, bedr
ooms, dining room, furnace room, utility room, and hallways
not protected by the required Smoke Alarms. The installation of Smoke
Alarms in kitchens, attics (finished or unfinished), or garages is not
normally r
ecommended, as these locations occasionally experience
conditions that can result in improper operation.
California State Fire Marshal (CSFM)
Early warning detection is best achieved by the installation of fire detection
equipment in all rooms and areas of the household as follows: A Smoke
Alarm installed in each separate sleeping area (in the vicinity, but outside
bedr
ooms), and Heat or Smoke Alarms in the living r
ooms, dining r
ooms,
bedrooms, kitchens, hallways, finished attics, furnace rooms, closets, utility
and storage r
ooms, basements, and attached garages.
ABOUT SMOKE ALARMS
Battery (DC) operated Smoke Alarms: Provide protection even when
electricity fails, pr
ovided the batteries are fresh and correctly installed.
Units ar
e easy to install, and do not require professional installation.
However, they do not provide interconnected functionality.
AC powered Smoke Alarms: Can be interconnected so if one unit
senses smoke, all units alarm. They do not operate if electricity fails.
AC with batter
y (DC) back-up:
will operate if electricity fails, pr
ovided
the batteries are fresh and correctly installed. AC and AC/DC units
must be installed by a qualified electrician.
Wireless Interconnected Alarms: Offer the same interconnected
functionality as with hardwired alarms, without wires. Units are easy
to install and do not r
equire professional installation. They provide
protection even when electricity fails, provided the batteries are fresh
and correctly installed.
Smoke Alar
ms for Solar or Wind Energy users and battery backup
power systems:
AC powered Smoke Alarms should only be operated
with true or pur
e sine wave inverters. Operating this Smoke Alarm with
most battery-power
ed UPS (uninterruptible power supply) products or
square wave or “quasi sine wave” inverters
will damage the Alarm.
If you ar
e not sure about your inverter or UPS type, please consult with
the manufactur
er to verify.
Smoke Alar
ms for the hearing impaired:
Special purpose Smoke
Alarms should be installed for the hearing impaired. They include a
visual alarm and an audible alarm hor
n, and meet the requirements of
the Americans With Disabilities Act. These units can be inter
connected
so if one unit senses smoke, all units alarm.
Smoke alar
ms are not to be used with detector guards
unless the
combination has been evaluated and found suitable for that purpose.
All these Smoke Alarms are designed to provide early warning of fires if
located, installed and car
ed for as described in the user’s manual, and if
smoke r
eaches the Alarm. If you ar
e unsure which type of unit to install,
refer to NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) 72 (National Fire
Alarm Code) and NFP
A 101 (Life Safety Code). National Fire Protection
Association, One Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269-9101.
Local
building codes may also require specific units in new construction
or in different areas of the home.
SPECIAL COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS
This unit alone is not a suitable substitute for complete fire
detection systems in places housing many people—like apartment
buildings, condominiums, hotels, motels, dormitories, hospitals,
long-term health care facilities, nursing homes, day care facilities,
or group homes of any kind—even if they were once single-family
homes. It is not a suitable substitute for complete fire detection
systems in warehouses, industrial facilities, commercial buildings,
and special-purpose non-residential buildings which require special
fire detection and alarm systems. Depending on the building codes
in your area, this unit may be used to provide additional protection
in these facilities.
The following information applies to all four types of buildings listed
below:
In new construction, most building codes require the use of AC or
AC/DC powered Smoke Alarms only. AC, AC/DC, or DC powered
Smoke Alarms can be used in existing construction as specified by
local building codes. Refer to NFPA 72 (National Fire Alarm Code) and
NFPA 101 (Life Safety Code), local building codes, or consult your Fire
Department for detailed fir
e pr
otection requirements in buildings not
defined as “households.”
1. Single-Family Residence:
Single family home, townhouse. It is recommended this unit be installed
on every level of the home, in every bedr
oom, and in each bedr
oom
hallway.
2. Multi-Family or Mixed Occupant Residence:
Apartment building, condominium. This unit is suitable for use in individual
apartments or condos, provided a primary fire detection system already
exists to meet fir
e
detection r
equirements in common areas like lobbies,
hallways, or porches. Using this unit in common areas may not provide
sufficient warning to all residents or meet local fire protection ordinances/
r
egulations.
3. Institutions:
Hospitals, day car
e facilities, long-term health care facilities. This unit is
suitable for use in individual patient sleeping/resident rooms, provided
a primary fire detection system already exists to meet fire detection
r
equir
ements in common ar
eas like lobbies, hallways, or por
ches.
Using this unit in common areas may not provide sufficient warning to
all residents or meet local fire protection ordinances/regulations.
4. Hotels and Motels:
Also boar
ding houses and dormitories. This unit is suitable for use
inside individual sleeping/r
esident r
ooms, pr
ovided a primary fir
e
detection system already exists to meet fire detection requirements
in common areas like lobbies, hallways, or porches. Using this unit in
common areas may not provide sufficient warning to all residents or
meet local fir
e pr
otection ordinances/regulations.