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About this User’s Guide
Notice we call this booklet a “User’s Guide” and not an “Owner’s
Manual.” This is because our intention is you use this guide just
as you will be using your Nighthawk CO alarm. Keep the guide
in a handy location and refer to it when you have questions
about your CO alarm, its functions and features, or if you have
questions about carbon monoxide. It will take about an hour of
your time, but it’s well worth it. Please read it in the sequence
presented. Reading this guide is the only way to learn how to use
your unit wisely and to know how to react in the event of an
alarm.
Part One
Your Nighthawk Carbon Monoxide Alarm, covers the
unique features of your Nighthawk carbon monoxide alarm, how
and where to install it, as well as information on testing and
maintaining your unit.
Part Two
Carbon Monoxide - The Silent Killer, contains valuable
information about carbon monoxide (CO). From discovering the
most common sources of CO in your home to recognizing the
symptoms of CO poisoning, this section provides tips and infor-
mation that could help protect your family from carbon monox-
ide poisoning.
Part Three
What You Should Know Before the Alarm Sounds, pro-
vides a common sense approach to understanding the difference
between low level CO readings, high levels and emergency situ-
ations. This section also describes the effects of exposure to CO
levels over time and when your Nighthawk CO unit will alarm.
Part Four
What to do When the Unit Alarms, gives you step-by step
information on how to respond to the different alarm situations.
Also covered is whom to call for help if you think you have CO
in your home.
Part Five
Technical Information, covers the technical specifications of
your Nighthawk CO alarm.
Part Six
Frequently Asked Questions, contains the most commonly
asked questions about our alarms. Part six was written by
KIDDE Safety customer service representatives who handle thou-
sands of calls per month, year-round. This section provides you
with answers and tips that will most likely answer any questions
you might have after reading this user’s guide.
This Nighthawk carbon monoxide (CO) alarm is an important
part of your family’s home safety plan. So important, the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends that
every household should have at least one carbon monoxide
alarm. In fact, the CPSC chairman has said that CO alarms are “as
important to home safety as smoke alarms.” Yet because CO
alarms for the home haven’t been available until recently, most
people haven’t had much experience using them. As a new
owner of a CO alarm, there are some basic facts you should
know for your protection and convenience.
Many people think that CO alarms operate like smoke alarms.
And in some basic ways, this is true. Like smoke alarms, CO
alarms continuously monitor the air in your home and sound a
loud alarm to warn you of trouble.
But, the similarities end here. The way you respond to a CO
alarm is quite different than that of a smoke alarm. That’s
because a house fire and a carbon monoxide problem are two
distinctly different situations. If your smoke alarm were to alarm,
you would quickly be able to judge the level of danger you were
in (if any) with your five senses: you could see and smell the
smoke, you could feel the heat, you could see and even hear the
fire burning. You could also readily see if your smoke alarm
were alarming in a non-emergency situation, say if someone
smoked up the kitchen with some seriously burnt toast. Because
your sense of sight, smell, hearing and touch give you so much
information, you could almost instantly judge what action to take
if you heard your smoke alarm.
But now, what about a CO alarm? Carbon monoxide (CO) is
invisible, odorless, tasteless and non-irritating–completely unde-
tectable to your five senses. That’s why it’s so important to your
safety that you have a carbon monoxide alarm. But, how do you
know what to do if your unit alarms?
You have to learn what to do, because your five senses won’t tell
you. That’s why this user’s guide is so important. Please take
the time to read this guide from cover to cover, to familiarize
yourself with the facts about carbon monoxide, how your new
unit works, and what to do if it alarms. Then, find a handy place
to keep the guide so it will be readily available in the future when
you have a question. You might want to write down KIDDE
Safety’s toll-free customer service number and keep it with your
other important phone numbers for the same reason.
Thank you for making Nighthawk a part of your complete home
safety program. With proper installation and use, your new
Nighthawk CO alarm should provide you with years of depend-
able service.
Introduction
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