Document NO.:RD-517-39-001
Version: B 2017.02.14
- 5 -
meet if a fire occurs.
•
Familiarize everyone with the sound of the smoke alarm
and train them to leave your home when they hear it.
•
Teach all household members to touch the door if it is hot
DO NOT OPEN IT, use an alternate exit .
•
Teach household members to crawl along the floor to stay
below dangerous smoke, fumes and gases.
•
Practice a fire drill at least every six months, including fire
drills at night. Ensure that small children hear the alarm
and wake when it sounds. They must quickly wake up in
order to execute the escape plan. Practice allows all
occupants to test your plan before an emergency. You may
not be able to reach your children. It is important they
know what to do.
•
Current studies have shown smoke alarms may not awaken
all sleeping individuals, and that it is the responsibility of
individuals in the household that are capable of assisting
others to provide assistance to those who may not be
awakened by the alarm sound, or to those who may be
incapable of safely evacuating the area unassisted.
What to do When the Alarm Sound:
1.
Alert small children in the home.
2.
Leave immediately by your escape plan. Every second
counts, so don’t waste time getting dressed or picking up
valuables.
3.
In leaving, don’t open any inside door without first feeling
its surface. If hot, or if you see smoke seeping through
cracks, don’t open that door! Instead, use your alternate
exit. If the inside of the door is cool, place your shoulder
against it, open it slightly and be ready to slam it shut if
heat and smoke rush in.
4.
Stay close to the floor if the air is smoky. Breathe shallowly
through a cloth, wet if possible.
5.
Once outside, go to your selected meeting place and make
sure everyone is there.
6.
Call the fire department from your neighbor’s home, not
from yours!
7.
Don’t return to your home until the fire officials say that it
is all right to do so.
8.
There are situations where a smoke alarm may not be
effective to protect against fire as stated in the National
Fire Alarm and Signaling Code NFPA 72, For instance:
a)
Smoking in bed
b)
Leaving children home alone
c)
Cleaning with flammable liquids, such as gasoline
Note:
These guidelines will assist you in fire prevention
planning, however, to reduce the chance that fires will start,
practice fire safety rules and prevent hazardous situations.
Recommended Locations for Alarms
Locate the first alarm in the immediate area of the
bedrooms. Try to monitor the exit path at the bedrooms as
they are usually farthest from the exit. If more than one
sleeping area exists, locate additional alarms in each
sleeping area.
Locate additional alarms to monitor any stairway as
stairways act like chimneys for smoke and heat.
Locate at least one alarm on every floor level.
Locate an alarm in every bedroom.
Locate an alarm in every room where electrical appliances
are operated (i.e. portable heaters or humidifiers).
Locate an alarm in every room where someone sleeps with
the door closed. The closed door may prevent an alarm not
located in that room from waking the sleeper.
Smoke, heat, and combustion products rise to the ceiling
and spread horizontally. Mounting the smoke alarm on the
ceiling in the center of the room. Ceiling mounting is
preferred in ordinary residential construction.
When mounting an alarm on the ceiling, locate it a
minimum of 4" (10cm) from the side wall (Refer to
Diagram 5).
When mounting the alarm on the wall, use an inside wall
with the top edge of the alarm a minimum of 4" (10cm) and
a maximum of 12" (30.5cm) below the ceiling (Refer to
Diagram 5).
Diagram 5
Put smoke alarms at both ends of a bedroom hallway or
large room if the hallway or room is more than 9.1 m (30 ft)
long.
