14
Limitations of Smoke Alarms
WARNING: Please read carefully and thoroughly.
•
NFPA 72 states: Fire-warning equipment for residential
occupancies are capable of protecting about half of the
occupants in potentially fatal fires. Victims are often intimate
with the fire, too old or too young, or physically or mentally
impaired such that they cannot escape even when warned
early enough that escape should be possible. For these
people, other strategies such as protection-in-place or
assisted escape or rescue would be necessary.
• Smoke alarms are devices that can provide early warning of
possible fires at a reasonable cost; however, alarms have
sensing limitations. Ionization sensing alarms may detect
invisible fire particles (associated with fast flaming fires)
sooner than photoelectric alarms. Photoelectric sensing
alarms may detect visible fire particles (associated with slow,
smouldering fires) sooner than ionization alarms. Home fires
develop in different ways and are often unpredictable. For
maximum protection, Kidde recommends that both
ionization and photoelectric alarms be installed.
• A battery powered alarm must have a battery of the
specified type, in good condition and installed properly.
• A.C. powered alarms (without battery backup) will not
operate if the A.C. power has been cut off, such as by an
electrical fire or an open fuse.
• Smoke alarms must be tested regularly to make sure the
batteries and the alarm circuits are in good operating
condition.
• Smoke alarms cannot provide an alarm if smoke does not
reach the alarm. Therefore, smoke alarms may not sense
fires starting in chimneys, walls, on roofs, on the other side
of a closed door or on a different floor.
• If the alarm is located outside the sleeping room or on a
different floor, it may not wake up a sound sleeper.
• The use of alcohol or drugs may also impair one’s ability to
hear the smoke alarm. For maximum protection, a smoke
alarm should be installed in each sleeping area on every
level of a home.
• Although smoke alarms can help save lives by providing an
early warning of a fire, they are not a substitute for an
insurance policy. Home owners and renters should have
adequate insurance to protect their lives and property.
Fire Safety
Summary of Contents for p9040CA
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