How Do Smoke Detectors Work to Protect You?
Fire prevention experts strongly recommend using smoke detectors in any indoor environment, even though they don’t prevent fire. What smoke detectors can do, however, is save lives. A fire can happen at any time when you’re asleep when you’re in another room. You may not notice it until it’s too late. Thankfully, a smoke detector will notify when there is a fire.
When a smoke detector goes off, and there’s a fire, you do not want to waste any time. Don’t grab anything. Just go. When you are alerted by an alarm, a fire’s fully developed and spread. Try to get low to the ground as deadly smoke rises and could potentially overcome you if you’re trying to make your way through it. Exit the home and do not re-enter for any reason once you’re out.
Let’s learn more about how do smoke detectors work to protect you:
Smoke detectors know there’s a fire before you do
Smoke spreads faster than and ahead of the fire. Although smoke inhalation can kill, it’s also a warning. A smoke detector picks up on that smoke, sending off an alarm that catches your attention no matter if you’re sitting on the couch or fast asleep. This, ideally, provides you with enough time to get out of harm’s way.
A fire can occur anywhere in the home. It can be a fire in the kitchen or near a small appliance in another room. It can be a faulty wiring in the wall or happen near the dryer. If you don’t see it, you won’t know it’s happening. A smoke detector picks up on the smoke. If you’ve ever had one accidentally go off while cooking a dinner, that’s showing you how sensitive some smoke alarms are. That’s a good thing. You can rest assured that, even when you’re sleeping, a smoke detector is doing its job.
Smoke detectors protect your home at night
The majority of home fires that result in fatalities occur at night when the people inside are sleeping. Many of these victims die from inhalation of smoke and toxic gases rather than burns. Smoke detectors are your eyes and ears when you’re sleeping. They will make you aware of what’s going on long before you would wake up on your own to see.
Not every home has working smoke detectors. Those who do stand a far better chance of surviving, getting out without injury, and sometimes preventing the fire from spreading. In the United States, it’s estimated that if all homes had working smoke alarms, nearly 900 more lives could be saved every year from fires. Unfortunately, nearly a quarter of all reported home fires occur in households with no smoke alarms, which are the most deadly.
Smoke detectors are easy to install and test
You don’t need any specialized knowledge to install a smoke alarm. They are very easy to put up. It’s recommended to install a smoke alarm in every sleeping room and/or outside separate sleeping areas. You should also have smoke detectors on every floor, including basements. This ensures that wherever a fire may present, it’s detected before it spreads to another room or part of the house.
Some homes have smoke detectors they assume to be working but aren’t because they never checked their batteries. Always check. At least once a month, go around and press the test button on every smoke alarm. Your smoke detector should indicate that it’s working. If it doesn’t respond, you know to replace the batteries.
For all of the advantages of a smoke detector, they do not cost a lot to purchase. The batteries themselves can last for years and are also not very expensive. For everything that could be saved from a smoke detector reacting in time, it’s a cost every homeowner, renter, or business owner should be okay with making.
Smoke detectors can identify carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide is a deadly gas. It cannot be seen by the naked eye and does not smell. You can easily be surrounded by it and not know until you fully pass out. These days, many smoke detectors are dual-sensor and can detect carbon monoxide in the air, providing you with added protection against another toxic gas.
Advanced smart smoke alarms are for an added layer of worry-free fire protection. These can be synced up with your smartphone. You can even be alerted remotely if there’s a house fire. In many cases, you can also interconnect smoke alarms without the need for any additional wiring. If you already have some smart home tech around the house or want more interconnected smart technology in your day-to-day, including your smoke detectors.
