Fire Alarm Safety
One of the most important elements of home safety is an alarm system that will quickly and easily alert you and your family in case of fire or carbon monoxide emissions. In 2019, 72.2% of deaths caused by fire were on residential properties according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Maintaining alarms is among the easiest steps to take in order to keep the residents of any home safe.
Whether your home is a new construction, under renovation or an existing residence, guidelines are laid out to keep every resident as safe as possible.
All Residences
Alarms must be placed in all bedrooms of a home and should be placed in any area where someone may sleep, such as living room or family rooms. In addition to bedroom alarms, an additional alarm must be placed in the hallways outside these sleeping areas. Every level must have at least one alarm, including basements and habitable attic areas. Crawl spaces and insulated attics do not require alarms.
CO alarms must be placed in the hallway outside of sleeping areas and on every level of the home. Many alarms detect both smoke and carbon monoxide. Should your home have preexisting smoke alarms that do not detect CO emissions, an additional CO alarm must be placed alongside the smoke alarm or in a similarly effective location on every level.
Placement
It is recommended that alarms not be placed in or directly outside bathroom facilities or kitchen areas to avoid nuisance alerts due to steam or heat from cooking. Depending on the layout of the home, the alarm for the level containing kitchen areas should be placed centrally on the level, however in a room separate from the kitchen whenever possible.
Alarms located on stories containing sleeping areas should be located central to all bedrooms and well away from bathroom entrances whenever possible. Alarms located within bedrooms can be placed anywhere. If there is a hallway outside of bedrooms that leads to stairs, the alarm should be placed near the top of the stairs.
It is recommended that alarms be placed on the ceiling whenever possible, away from corners as smoke travels the path of least resistance and corners are what are termed a “dead space”. If a ceiling has a steep grade, such as an A-Line roof in an attic bedroom or living space, the alarm can be placed on the wall within three feet of the highest portion of the ceiling. The reason for this is to account for temperature variation in rooms with significant ceiling height.
Any placement must avoid blockage by any means, such as doors, ductwork or any other obstacle. Any enclosed stairwell must house an alarm at its highest level and out of the way of any doorway.
New Construction Requirements
All new homes must wire alarms into the home electrical system with batteries as a backup system. All alarms must be interconnected so that in the event of smoke or CO detection, all alarms in the home will sound.
If a home is remodelled to add a new dwelling or sleeping area, new alarms must be placed throughout the home and wired into a single interconnected system. If interior finishes are not removed in the process of this renovation and basement or attic access is not available, new alarms can be added on an individual basis and function separately by battery power.
If additions are added that exceed fifty percent of the existing structure, an integrated wired in alarm system must be installed throughout the entire home.
Existing Homes
If no construction is being completed upon the purchase of a home with an existing battery powered alarm system, this system can remain in place provided batteries are checked regularly.
Alarms should be changed every ten years at minimum and sooner if the specific type of alarm advisories state otherwise.
Carbon Monoxide Safety
Carbon monoxide, or CO, is a poisonous gas that cannot be seen or smelled and can kill a person in minutes. It can build up to unsafe levels very quickly in enclosed or semi-enclosed areas. CO is produced by incomplete combustion from everyday items we have in our home or store in or garages. Weed trimmers, chainsaws, boat engines, burning charcoal and wood, and gas ranges and furnaces. It’s also worth noting that smoking tobacco products is a significant source of CO in homes with smokers as well.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning
Initial symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are fatigue, dizziness, confusion, headache, weakness, and nausea. It can be difficult to detect low levels of carbon monoxide poisoning because they are also symptoms of many common illnesses such as the stomach flu. There are two additional signs to look for which may indicate it is indeed CO poisoning:
- The symptoms go away when leaving your home and come back when returning home
- Everyone living in the home has these symptoms at the same time
High levels of carbon monoxide will typically cause loss of consciousness and or death. Carbon monoxide poisoning can kill someone in their sleep before ever knowing they were exposed to the gas. Everyone, including animals, are at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning. Some groups, such as those with chronic illness or young children, can be at higher risk so it is especially important to have CO detectors on every level of your home.
