Are my smoke detectors really that important? Would you rather be dead?

The smoke detector is probably the single most important life-saving device in your home.

Homeowners should be testing and changing batteries in their smoke detectors annually. But, most do not.  Having operable smoke detectors simply saves lives. Two-thirds of reported residential fire related deaths occur in homes with smoke detectors that are not working, have missing or dead batteries or are simply not present. What most people don't know is that the olfactory or smell sense shuts off when we sleep.  However, our sense of hearing remains on and acute.  Do you remember those days of waking up on Saturday morning to the smell of breakfast cooking?  

The danger of a house fire is not necessarily burning up in the flames as most of us fear.  It's the dangerous combustion gases that enter the lungs.  Noxious fumes from different materials burning spread quickly throughout the house and we breath these fumes.  Inhaling the smoke immediately affects our judgment and disorients us.  The trick to saving lives in a fire is to get out into fresh air and away from the burning building as quickly as possible.
 

Many homeowners take these little devices for granted and assume they are foolproof and completely reliable. However, your life is in the hands of one little 9-volt or a couple of AA batteries.  Batteries require testing to ensure they are indeed working and eventual replacement when depleted of their stored energy. There are many smoke detector manufacturers and many different types of detectors available.  Check the instructions for each manufacturer's testing recommendations. If you don’t have this information you can test your smoke detectors by simply pressing and holding the test button for a few seconds. If the device makes a very loud noise while holding the test button down, then its working. If your smoke detectors are interconnected, like on modern homes, you should hear the detectors throughout the house as well. Never test smoke detectors by creating smoke or by putting a candle under the detector.

Modern standards require all new homes must have their smoke detectors installed in each sleeping room, the adjacent hallway and each level of the house.  They must also be interconnected, hardwired to their own electrical circuit and even be AFCI protected.  Interconnecting is important so that if one unit goes off, it triggers all the others in the house.  Hard wiring is important so if the batteries are dead, there is a second electrical source to activate the alarm.  Batteries are the secondary power back up if the electrical system shuts down during a fire.

In addition to testing and replacing the batteries in each smoke detectors, always make sure you have a designated fire escape plan and perform your fire drill annually.  Smoke detectors will only wake you from a deep sleep.  What to do when you awake needs to be figured out and become second nature when flames are near by.

Frequency: Annually 
Difficulty: Very easy

Tools required: Ladder and a finger or a long rod to push the test button 
Completion Time: 1 minute per smoke detector

Regardless of they type of house you have, there are some necessary tasks you will have to do stay on top of things.  Learn more and keep up with your house with a free My Healthy House.com profile.  Stay tuned and make your house the best it can be.  

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© Healthy House, Inc. 2009