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EE ao aaa iE SS a Ee If you were sound asleep when a fire broke out in your home, do you think the smoke would awaken you? If you think so, you're dead wrong. "When there's a fire, the smoke will ac- tually put sleeping people into a deeper sleep, not awaken them," says NFPA assistant vice-president for Public Affairs and Education Meri-K Appy. "That's why smoke detectors are so very important. They pro- vide an early audible warning of a fire, and can provide extra time to escape safely." NFPA has decided to make smoke detectors the theme for this year's National Fire Pre- vention Week, Oct. 4-10, 1992. The theme is "Test Your Detec- tor - It's Sound Advice." The greater number of fatal home fires occur between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m. when most of us are asleep. Even though this time frame is when fires are least likely to occur, those that do occur are most deadly because they can go undetected. "Having adequate smoke de- tector protection in your home is absolutely key to fire survival - and when it comes to smoke detectors, one is usually not enough for the average apart- ment or house," Ms. Appy con- tinues. Smoke detectors should be located on every level of the home, including basements, and there should be a smoke de- tector outside each sleeping area. The NFPA recommends testing your detectors regularly and if they are battery- operated, replacing the batter- ies at least once a year, or when the detector chirps, signalling low battery power. Smoke detectors are the most powerful fire safety technology in your home - if you have them! For less than the cost of dinner at an inexpensive restaurant, your smoke detectors reduce your chances of dying if you have a fire by about 40 per cent. *Who has smoke detectors? 1f you still don't have smoke detec- tors, you're part of a small, shrinking, high-risk minority. Out of every seven households, six now have at least one smoke detector. Two decades ago, less than five per cent of households had detectors. *How long have smoke detec- tors been around? Home fire de- tectors have been around for most of this century - since the 1920s, in fact. However, it wasn't until 1970 that the fa- miliar single-station, battery- powered smoke detector be- came available. *Why smoke detectors? In a hostile fire, smoke and deadly gases tend to spread farther and faster than heat. That's one reason why fire deaths due to smoke inhalation outnumber fire deaths due to burns by two to one - and the smoke inhala- tion share has been growing. Nearly two decades ago, tests on the speed of warning given by smoke detectors and heat de- tectors for many types of typical home fires showed smoke detec- tors consistently give first warning - often by enough of a margin to make a major differ- ence in your chances of escaping alive. That's why your basic pro- tection should consist of smoke detectors, with heat detectors reserved for optional extra pro- tection in areas such as kitch- ens, attics, and garages, where smoke detectors are too suscep- tible to nuisance alarms. *How many smoke detectors do you need? For minimum pro- tection, NFPAs Standard 74 on household fire warning equip- ment - by far the most widely ac- cepted standard on what you need for smoke detector protec- tion - requires smoke detectors outside each sleeping area and on each level of the home, in- cluding the basement if you have one. (If you sleep with your doors closed, consider installing a detector in each bedroom, too). AN FIRE PREVENTION WEEK Keep October 4 to 10, 1992 TEST YOUR DETECTOR - IT'S SOUND ADVICE! Your smoke detectors are only as good as the batteries that power them. Make sure your smoke detectors have what it takes to warn you if there is a fire. Test them weekly by pushing the test button and replace the batteries with new ones at least once a year or when they chirp, signalling low power. Most fatal home fires occur at night when people are asleep. Smoke won't awaken you - in fact, it will probably put you into a deeper sleep - so you need the sound of a smoke detector to warn you of fire so you can escape. your smoke detectors working so you'll be protected. Acord Fire Equipment Ltd. 121 Toronto St. S., Box 727, Uxbridge 852-6847 pager:559-6988 Fire Extinguisher Sales & Service Hydro Static Testing U.L.C. Approved Fire Ladders, Smoke Detectors INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED HOMEOWNERS 193 Queen St., Port Perry 985-7306 FARM AUTO COMMERCIAL DJ TAYLOR Insurance Brokers Ltd. 169 North Street Place, Port Perry 985-8416 Fax: 985 0801 SEE US FOR ALL YOUR | PURPLE MARTIN HOUSES BAT HOUSES, TOAD-A-BODES Order Now for Christmas BIRD HOUSE WILLY 15173 Simcoe Street, Fit Perry, Ontario 985-7239 *Where and how do I install my smoke detectors? Detectors that are hard-wired into the home electrical system should be installed by a qualified elec- trician. If your detector plugs into a wall socket, make sure it has a restraining device to keep its plug from being pulled out. Most detectors are battery- powered and can be installed with just a screwdriver and drill. Smoke and deadly gases are also hot, so they rise toward the ceiling and that's where your detector(s) should be - on the ceiling at least four inches from the nearest wall, or high on a wall, four to 12 inches from the ceiling. (If you have a high- pitched ceiling, mount the de- tector near the highest point). The four inch minimum is to keep the detector out of possible "dead air" spaces, because hot air is also turbulent and may bounce so much that it misses spots right near a surface. Simi- larly, a detector should not be placed near an interior door, where air movement around the door frame might miss the detector, or near an outside door, window, or air register, where drafts might push smoke away from the detector. In general, put your detector squarely in the path you think smoke would take if it were heading upstairs or through your home, toward your bed- rooms. Protecting the bedrooms at night - where you are most at risk from a fire because you're asleep - is the top priority. The Piajozity of fire i how occur at night when people are asleep. *What maintenance do smoke detectors need? If your detector uses them, replace bat- teries according to the manufac- turer's recommendations - but replace them at least once a year or when the smoke detec- tor chirps, signalling low bat- tery power. If you move into a new home, replace all the bat- teries at once. Make sure every- one understands how impor- tant it is to have working batteries in every detector - and how dangerous it is to remove detector batteries, even for a short time - for use in some- thing else. Besides battery mainte- nance, the other maintenance need is to keep your detector clean. Never paint the detector itself, and cover it if you are go- ing to be doing some work near it that could put a lot of dust in the air. To take care of routine dust and cobwebs, vacuum or clean your detectors once a year - when you change the batteries soit's easy to remember - follow- ing the manufacturer's instruc- tions on how to clean. *Why is detector testing "sound advice?" A detector that isn't working is no better than no detector at all. It may even be worse, because it gives you a sense of being protected that isn't real. Testing your detector is the only way to be sure your detector is working - and a working detector greatly reduc- es your chances of dying in a home fire, which makes regular testing very sound advice! Unfortunately, NFPA esti- mates that about one-third of all home smoke detectors are not working, usually because of dead or missing batteries. Reg- ular testing is the only way to make sure this doesn't happen to you. NFPA recommends test- ing your detector once a week. If you test your detector once a week, you can't go more than a couple days without detector protection. If you test it less of- ten, you could go weeks or months with no protection. What if that's when you have a fire? Develop and i rehearse an escape plan in case your detector goes off. *What else? Know what to do if the detector ever does go off to signal a real fire. Develop and rehearse an escape plan - one with two ways out from every room, especially bedrooms. Have an outside meeting place arranged in advance so that if a fire does happen, no one will need to wonder whether every- one has gotten out safely. And rehearse your plan so everyone can be sure they'll be able to es- cape quickly if necessary. Know how to deal with nui- sance alarms without losing de- tector protection. If you have a problem, try switching to a dif- ferent type or brand of smoke detector or try adjusting the po- sition of the detector to get away from cooking fumes, steam from bathrooms, and any of the other air movement problems cited earlier. Finally, if you've finished this fact sheet and you're already do- ing everything right, think about the next step beyond smoke detectors - home fire sprinklers. Even a home with complete smoke detector pro- tection can achieve a major ad- ditional reduction in fire risk with home sprinklers, which are now surprisingly affordable and aesthetically unobtrusive. Contact your local fire depart- ment for more details or the NFPA for specific statistics if you're interested.