Smoke Detectors

How they can save your life...........

In the nineteen sixies, or perhaps eralier than that, most people in the United States had never heard of a smoke detector. By the mid-nineteen nineties, an average of ninety precent of all American homes, apartments, nursing homes and dormitories were equipped with detectors. By the mid-nineteen eighties, smoke detector legislation required that detectors be placed in all new and existing residences in at least thirty nine states and thousands of other municipalities across the country. And smoke detector provisions have been followed by most of the national building code organizations.

Fire services across the country have played a major role in alerting the public to the benefits of smoke detectors. The biggest factor in this rapid growth in both the marketplace and the code enforcement/building communities has been the development and marketing of affordable detectors by commercial companies. In the early seventies, the cost of protecting a three bedroom home was well over a thousand dollars; today the cost of protecting your home by do it yourself methods in the same house has come down to as little as four dollars per alarm, or less than forty dollars for protection of the entire home. This cost decline, combined with effective public education has caused America's consumers, whether they are renting or buying, to demand smoke detector protection. When fire breaks out, the smoke detector, functioning as an early warning system, reduces the risk of dying by over fifty percent. Alarms are your first line of defense against fire. Smoke detectors could save your own life and those of your loved ones by providing the chance to escape.

Why should I have smoke detectors installed in my home?

In the event of a fire, a smoke detector can save your life and those of your loved ones. They are the single most important factor in preventing house and apartment fire deaths by providing an early warning signal, so you and your family can escape. Smoke detectors are one of the best safety devices that you can buy and install yourself, thus protecting your family and your home.

Where is the best place to install smoke detectors?

Install smoke detectors on every level of your home, including the basement. Many fatal fires begin late at night or in the early morning, while people are asleep. For an added margin of protection, install smoke detectors both inside and outside the sleeping area.

Also, smoke detectors should be installed on the ceiling or six to eight inches below the ceiling on side walls. Since smoke and the deadly gases they produce rise, installing your smoke detectors at the proper level will provide you with the earliest warning possible.

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