What type of smoke detector should I buy and where do I place it in my home? A smoke detector is the most important fire safety device and should be placed inside each room used as living quarters and in hallways outside each room.
There are several things that consumers and homeowners can do to help protect their homes from fire damage. Experts will tell you that the best prevention in the fight against home fire is knowledge. Consumers should arm themselves with the information needed to make their home and work place as safe from fires as possible.
Some of these fire preventive steps include going through the house checking for frayed or damaged wires on appliances. Also, be sure to check the extension cords that you use in and outside of your house to make sure they are safe. Keeping matches and other possible fire starting items away from small children is also a very good tip. Making sure that the house has fire extinguishers at strategic areas throughout the house will also help reduce the possibility of fire damage.
But, according to Dan Jansen, none of these tips is quite as important as the one that involves having a smoke detector in your home. With over 18 years as a Fire Marshall in Georgetown, Texas, Dan Jansen is an expert in the world of fire safety. During his tenure as a Fire Marshall, Jansen has dealt primarily with fire education, safety and prevention. Jansen said that every home needs to have a smoke detector.
"For fire safety in your home, the most important thing that you need is going to be a smoke detector," he said. "Every home should have multiple smoke detectors. Smoke detectors need to be placed inside each room used as living quarters, and they also need to be placed in the hallway outside of each living quarter."
Also, experts will advise consumes to do research on their home to make sure that they are placing their smoke detectors in accurate positions. You want to make sure that the detector will allow you and your family enough time to get out of the house. Also, it would be a good idea to put one smoke detector in the back of the house near the bedrooms. In this type of situation, the smoke and fire could be too close to the sleeping family before the smoke detector sounds the alarm. In addition, be sure to place multiple smoke detectors throughout the house and possibly the garage.
"You need to have a smoke detector that works off of both ac and dc power," Jansen added. "That way, if your electricity goes out, you still have a battery backup. The batteries need to be changed twice a year. We like to promote 'the change your clock, change your battery program.' Whenever you change your clocks forward or backward for daylight savings time, you should also change your battery in your smoke detector, clean your detector, and perform any maintenance that needs to be done at that time."
"Smoke detectors are relatively cheap, and you can get them as cheap as five to six dollars," Jansen added. "I have seen the least expensive smoke detector work and save a life. I've seen the most expense smoke detector work and save a life. So as far as cost, obviously most people believe, and rightfully so, that the more you spend the better you are, but it is an individual decision."
