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Smoke alarms are one of the most important safety features of your home. Properly installed, working smoke alarms will give you early warning to safely escape from a fire. Having a smoke alarm cuts your chance of dying in a home fire nearly in half. The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) estimates that 93% of U.S. homes have at least one smoke alarm. They save so many lives that most states have laws requiring them in residential dwellings.

Although 13 of every 14 homes have at least one smoke alarm, almost half of home fires and three-fifths of fire deaths occur in the share of homes with no alarms. Thousands of people still die each year in home fires where smoke alarms aren't present.

Placement

• NFPA's National Fire Alarm Code says homes must have smoke alarms on every floor -- including the basement -- and outside each sleeping area. New homes are required to have a smoke alarm in each sleeping room as well. Hard-wired alarms should be interconnected, so that if one alarm is activated, all alarms go off
• Since smoke and deadly gases rise, alarms should be placed on the ceiling at least 4 inches from the wall, or high on a wall, 4-12 inches from the ceiling. This 4-inch minimum is important to keep alarms out of possible "dead air" spaces, because hot air is turbulent and may bounce so much it misses spots near a corner. Installing alarms near a window, door or fireplace is not recommended because drafts could detour smoke away from the unit. In rooms where the ceiling has an extremely high point, such as in vaulted ceilings, mount the alarm at or near the ceiling's highest point
• To slow the spread of smoke and flames if a fire develops, NFPA suggests that you sleep with your bedroom doors closed
• Make sure you buy only those alarms that bear the mark of an independent testing laboratory

Testing and Maintenance

• There are now more homes with smoke alarms that don't work than homes without alarms at all. Approximately one-third of homes with smoke alarms that experience fires have smoke alarms that aren't working, and hundreds of people die each year in these fires
• Poorly maintained units create a false sense of security among occupants
• Regular monthly testing will help discover alarm failure as well as a dead or missing battery. Test each alarm according to the manufacturer’s instructions
• Smoke detector batteries should be replaced twice each year. A good way to remember is to replace them when you change your clocks for Daylight Savings Time. Replace batteries according to the manufacturer's instructions. Change the batteries immediately if you move into a new home.
• Smoke alarms need to be cleaned according to the manufacturer's instructions. Cobwebs and dust usually can be removed with a vacuum cleaner attachment. If you are going to be doing work nearby that could send dust or paint into the air, cover the alarm with a shield. Remove the shield promptly after work is completed. Never paint the smoke detector
• Take care of your smoke detectors, and they will take care of you

Fast Facts:

• Smoke detectors should be replaced after 10 years
• The smell of smoke may not wake a sleeping person. Instead, the poisonous gases and smoke produced by a fire can numb the senses and put one into a deeper sleep
• A battery-operated smoke alarm for the home retails for less than $10. Smoke alarms with extra features can cost up to $25. Batteries cost $1 to $2, depending on the brand. A smoke alarm for a typical hard-wired system costs $14-$18. Smoke alarms for people with hearing impairments cost approximately $100 each. In 1994, home fires caused $481,000 in damage every hour
• Most people who die in home fires are not in the room where the fire starts
• The majority of fire deaths occur at night when people are asleep

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