62% of Home Fire Deaths Are Due to Families Having No or Faulty Smoke Detectors*
Published December 6, 2011 | 
According to the Home Safety Council, more than 3,000 people die from fires each year (USA Statistics). Eighty percent of those occur while in the home; the majority of those happen when people are sleeping. A fire can build and grow in just minutes.
That can cause poisonous gas to build up in a home easily. If you’re asleep, it’s an extremely dangerous situation. That’s why smoke alarms are the most important thing all people can have in their homes.
According to the National Fire Protection agency, 62% of home-related fire deaths resulted because the home didn’t have smoke alarms, or the alarms were not functional. In Canada – the Smoke Detector Law states that Smoke Alarms older than 10 years MUST be replaced. In the USA, if your smoke alarms are over 10 years of age, you’re encouraged to have them replaced, or at least inspected).
Here are some smoke-alarm-safety tips everyone should know:
- Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home as well as outside sleeping areas.
- For additional protection, install a smoke alarm in each bedroom.
- Alarms should be tested every month and the batteries replaced at least once a year.
- Install alarms near the highest pitch of the ceiling, at least four inches away from the wall.
- Avoid placing alarms too close to the kitchen and bathrooms where fumes and steam can result in false alarms.
- Purchase smoke alarms that are Underwriters Laboratories of Canada ULC or CSA approved, or listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for USA
- Install special alarms for anyone in your home who is deaf or hearing impaired. (Visual Alarms can be added).
- Test smoke alarms after returning home after you’ve been away for a few days.
The best smoke detectors people can have today are interconnected smoke alarms. If one signals, all of them throughout the home will simultaneously chirp. This provides families maximum safety—they don’t have to wait until the smoke or fire is perilously close to alert them.
For best protection, Captain Electric recommends that your Smoke Alarms should be wired (120 Volt) with Battery Back-up, and wired “interconnected.” In some cases, wireless “interconnected” Smoke Alarms may be a more practical and cost effective solution.
If you are concerned at all about the integrity of the Smoke Alarms in your home, please call Captain Electric to discuss the options you have to protect your home and family from Fire and Smoke hazards.
*National Fire Protection Association(USA)
Every Second Counts – How good is your smoke alarm system?
Published March 15, 2011 | Every Second Counts – How good is your smoke alarm system?
An article in the Toronto Star on March 14, 2011 reported on an electrical fire that destroyed a family home in Sunderland, Ontario, northeast of Toronto.
We were so happy to read that the Toth family survived the fire that unfortunately destroyed their home of 23 years. The Toth family was able to escape only due to the quick action of their son. Sixteen year old Mitchell woke the family up when he could not breathe due to the heavy smoke in his room.
The cause of the fire was traced to an electrical problem in a wall.
There are two issues we can identify that should be looked at:
- Why the Smoke Alarm outside the bedrooms did not sound off.
- How did a fire start on an electrical circuit inside the wall? How could this have been prevented? [we will write an article on this issue at another time]
The Toronto Star article addresses the Smoke Alarm issue, the fact that the smoke alarm outside the bedrooms did not sound off, because the fire that started was too far away.
There is no question that working smoke alarms save lives. Statistics from the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office indicate that in about 50% of fatal home fires, the victims had no smoke alarm warning. 64% of fatalities occur in areas where the response time is less than five minutes. These are sobering statistics.
On April 1, 2006 the smoke detector law came into effect in Ontario.
Minimum code is that every home must have a working smoke alarm on each level of the home, and outside of sleeping areas. Additionally, smoke alarms must be replaced every ten years (or sooner if required by the manufacturer). This is minimum code. Maybe it is time to consider that this is not enough.
Studies from the 1970’s show that it took 17 minutes from the time that a smoke alarm first sounded, until flashover, when the entire room bursts into flame. Today it takes only 3 minutes. This is because our “modern” homes are filled with plastics that burn twice as fast as wood, and release deadly toxic gases. Upholstered furniture and mattresses that contain quick burning materials are major culprits, as are electronics, toys and a range of household goods that are made of plastic. Most people die from smoke inhalation, not fire.
According to Bev Gilbert, manager of public education and media with the Ontario Fire Marshalls Office, “Those critical minutes are up to you. That’s why it’s so important to have smoke alarms,” he says. “Not just on every floor and outside of sleeping areas, as required by law five years ago, but in every bedroom as well.”
Don’t ever take your smoke alarms for granted. We recommend the following:
- If you don’t know how old your smoke alarms are, have them replaced.
- Make sure there is at least one working smoke alarm on each level of the home.
- Consider additional smoke alarms in each bedroom.
- Have them interconnected, so that no matter which smoke alarm first detects the smoke, each and every alarm in the home will sound.
(This protects your family, because even a fire that is originating in the basement will alert your family that is asleep on the second floor).
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