Installing smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms in your home isn’t just a good idea; it can potentially save your life. When these two devices are properly maintained and installed in the correct areas of your home, you will be alerted of potential life-threatening dangers.
Often people ignore the need to install or properly maintain smoke alarms in their home, believing that the presence of a fire is obvious. They may think that before they are in any danger they will have seen the flames or smelled the smoke. What they don’t realize is that fire victims usually pass away from smoke inhalation rather than from the flames or the intense heat. If you are asleep when a fire starts, you could die of smoke inhalation without ever realizing you were in danger.
According to current city codes, smoke alarms must be installed in each sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including basements and habitable attics. When more than one smoke alarm is required, the alarm devices should be interconnected in such a manner that the actuation of one alarm will activate all of the alarms in the house. The new code calls for smoke alarms to receive their primary power from the building’s permanent wiring.
Carbon monoxide can be as dangerous as smoke, but it is impossible to detect without an alarm. It is an odorless, colorless, and tasteless gas that is deadly. Carbon monoxide fumes are produced anytime you burn fuel in cars, small engines, gas stoves, lanterns, grills, fireplaces, or furnaces. This lethal gas can build up indoors and poison the people and animals who breathe it. By properly installing carbon monoxide detectors, you can be warned of potential dangers.
The city code calls for all new construction to have these detectors installed outside of each sleeping area where fuel-fired appliances are installed and in dwellings that have attached garages. Installing an alarm on each floor of the home and near gas appliances will bring added safety. There are many different types of alarms that can be hardwired, battery-operated, or simply plugged into an electrical socket. The cost is relatively low, and the peace it brings is priceless!
