The life saving importance of smoke detectors
- Fire Roots
- Jul 7
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 11
Smoke detectors are the first line of defense against devastating house fires, yet are frequently overlooked and forgotten within homes. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), just having a working smoke detector in your home can cut the risk of dying from fires by more than half. This is very significant, especially considering that in 2016 alone, over 370,000 home fires occurred in the United States, resulting in around 2,800 deaths and over 10,000 injuries. Despite this, many homes still lack knowledge and maintenance on fire alarms that cause them to fail during emergencies.
Smoke detectors rarely fail because of mechanical error from production issues. Instead, most failed smoke detectors are caused by human mistakes. In a research study, over 75% of smoke alarm failures are due to missing, disconnected, or dead batteries. Unfortunately, many people remove batteries from smoke detectors to avoid the nuisance chirping, or temporarily “borrow” batteries from smoke detectors during household tasks and forget to replace them. Small acts such as these can have devastating consequences on fire safety in homes, which is why experts warn to never, ever remove a battery from a smoke detector without immediately putting in a brand new one.
Proper placement and maintenance of smoke detectors is just as important as ensuring working batteries are placed in smoke detectors. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends installing at least one smoke detector every level of the home (basement, living room, roof), and at least one outside every bedroom. In addition, these smoke detectors must be actively maintained regularly. According to research by the national library of medicine, less than a quarter of lithium battery smoke detectors continue to work after 8 years of service, either due to neglect or other factors. Therefore, it is crucial to replace these battery powered smoke detectors every few years or so, in order to ensure the smoke detector still works. Along with aging, another factor that contributes to malfunctioning smoke detectors is dust. Dust buildup can easily block smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors from functioning correctly if not maintained properly. In order to prevent this, the Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service recommends citizens to dust smoke detectors monthly using soft brushes. It’s important to not use vacuum cleaners, as that can also damage smoke detectors from functioning.
New innovation has also led to better options when choosing smoke detectors to use. On the market, there are currently two main types of smoke detectors: lithium battery powered ones and hard wired smoke detectors. As mentioned previously, lithium battery powered smoke detectors need constant maintenance and repair, and batteries must be replaced monthly. Hard wired ones, on the other hand, are a new type of smoke detectors that work consistently for around a decade. These types of smoke detectors can be attached to flat surfaces, and once a plastic sheet is pulled, work without battery replacement for a decade. Research has also indicated that these hard wired smoke detectors often work better than lithium batteries, where in a tested sample, hard wired ones remain functional 94% of the time while battery only models work around 85% of the time. For these various reasons, fire departments have begun pushing for adoption of these new hard wired smoke detectors, and firefighters from Tusla knocked door to door on neighborhood, recommending newer hard wired versions of smoke alarms that last 10 years
Beyond just technology, families should also be prepared to have an escape plan in the event of a fire. Children, in particular, may panic or become confused during an emergency. It is therefore essential to establish a clear evacuation route or a meeting point for all members of family and regularly practicing it.
Ultimately, As Fire Chief Stegner of the U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern puts it, “No one should die because of a missing or dead battery.” Maintaining your smoke detectors is a simple but powerful way to protect yourself and your loved ones. Don’t wait until it’s too late: check your alarms today.
-Written by Luke Song
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