Smoke Detectors.

[bmudd14474]

This week has been a hard week for the little town that I work in because of home fires. Last night there was another on where a grandmother died and all the kids and mother were burned pretty good.

The point of this is to remind everyone to check your smoke detectors to ensure that they are working. Also have them in areas like where your dryer is located. This can make the difference between life and death. If you don't have any and can't afford them let me know and I will send you one. Lets keep our families and friends as safe as we can while they sleep.

Merry Christmas everyone.

 

[boykjo]

Thanks for the reminder Brian.. I need to fix one of mine.....

Joe

 

[mballi3011]

Now thats a good reminder and we don't ever think of thoses things until something like this happens close to us.

 

[venture]

A great and timely reminder Brian.

When my mom was alive we had certain days of the year when we always visited her.  Mothers' Day was the trip when we always changed the batteries in her smoke detector.  Now Mothers' Day is always our reminder to change out the batteries.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[bmudd14474]

With all of the technology we have there should be no reason people cant set reminders. I have a reminder set on my phone's calendar and the one on my computer to remind me to check them every 6 months. Also remember to not just check/change the batteries but to get a can of test smoke to make sure they are working correctly.

 

[roller]

Merry Christmas !!!!

 

[SmokinAl]

It's funny you brought this up, because just this morning my smoke alarm was beeping because the battery was low. Changed them all & I'm good to go!

 

[eman]

There is one important thing to add here. You also should have Carbon Monoxide monitors in multiple places in your home.

 Carbon Monoxide is an odorless ,colorless gas That displaces oxygen. usually if it builds up enough to cause a problem You never wake up.

 

[pit 4 brains]

This week has been a hard week for the little town that I work in because of home fires. Last night there was another on where a grandmother died and all the kids and mother were burned pretty good.
The point of this is to remind everyone to check your smoke detectors to ensure that they are working. Also have them in areas like where your dryer is located. This can make the difference between life and death. If you don't have any and can't afford them let me know and I will send you one. Lets keep our families and friends as safe as we can while they sleep.
Merry Christmas everyone.

Great post and a good time to post it with all the lights, trees and "Griswold" tumors of adapters and extension cords pluged into every available outlet.

I just wanted to toss in the fact that you should have a few working fire extinguishers of the appropriate type throughout your home.

Have a H2O type near but not next to the fireplace.

A dry chem handy by the stove and outside of the laundry room.

Just remember that extinguishers should be located in the exit route and not at the suspected source of the fire.

For detectors, 
 If you don't know where to place new detectors, check with Brian or just call your local fire dept and they will send someone to your home to show you the best places for them. There are factors like ac ducts, vaulted ceilings, ceiling fans, windows, and doors to take into consideration when placing them.

 

With all of the technology we have there should be no reason people cant set reminders. I have a reminder set on my phone's calendar and the one on my computer to remind me to check them every 6 months. Also remember to not just check/change the batteries but to get a can of test smoke to make sure they are working correctly.

Pick a holiday somewhere opposite of your birthday and check them on both.

 

[alblancher]

I always let the central heat run for a full day or so before going to bed with it on.  They seem to be a big problem first time they come on after sitting idle all summer.

Another important lesson is if you are taking medication that can make you sleepy cook you meals early in the day and warm them in the microwave.

I had a aunt killed in a house fire when she fell asleep while cooking.  The pan got so hot it melted and caught the kitchen curtains on fire.  She had burgular bars on the house so the fire department had a real hard time getting into the house. 

 

[tom in nc]

Great post and a good time to post it with all the lights, trees and "Griswold" tumors of adapters and extension cords pluged into every available outlet.

I just wanted to toss in the fact that you should have a few working fire extinguishers of the appropriate type throughout your home.

Have a H2O type near but not next to the fireplace.

A dry chem handy by the stove and outside of the laundry room.

Just remember that extinguishers should be located in the exit route and not at the suspected source of the fire.

For detectors, 
 If you don't know where to place new detectors, check with Brian or just call your local fire dept and they will send someone to your home to show you the best places for them. There are factors like ac ducts, vaulted ceilings, ceiling fans, windows, and doors to take into consideration when placing them.

 

Pick a holiday somewhere opposite of your birthday and check them on both.

Great post and it needs to be repeated throughout the year.  I'm in thefire protection industry and in the interest of non-self promotion I'll keep my employer to myself. With respect to extinguishers, I keep them at suspected sources as well as in exit routes. Rather be safe than sorry.
 

 

[venture]

Testing a carbon monoxide detector can be interesting.

I put it above my smoker chimney with invisible TBS.  Dang thing almost jumped out of my hand.

That is a good thing.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[pops6927]

The most common time to change your batteries in your smoke detectors, check out your fire safety devices and test them are the change of times in the spring with standard time going to daylight savings time and in the fall with daylight savings time going to standard time.  Of course this is moot if your county or state does not recognize these; but in 95% of households across America it is encouraged to do this at those times.  At RadioShack we always have big promotions on 9V Alkaline batteries for this change.  PLEASE do NOT use Heavy Duty batteries!  They will fail at their half-life and you are changing batteries too often to the point where you ignore it!

The difference between the two is on this graph:

Less than half way down the graph on the red line the batteries will fail, long before the alkaline batteries, and you have no protection because they are too weak.

Alkaline batteries deliver constant power right up to the end of their life, then drop off sharply, triggering the beep to change them.  When you hear the beep you know it is a MUST to change them as soon as possible.

Heavy Duty batteries are carbon-zinc or similar materials that disperse gradually and can have a much longer, slower time to activate the warning beep in a much shorter life of time, and effectively assuage you into ignoring the warnings and keep you from changing them so soon.  And, the net result is that you ignore your fire detector and don't service it and then it's too late when you have a fire, it will not activate and warn you.

If the time change doesn't work for you, pick two times 6 months apart and religiously follow it to protect life, home and property!

 

[miamirick]

i want to bring up an alternative,,,

in dade couty we're required by building code to install hard wire smoke detectors, a little extra expense, but always on and never change the batteries.   just ask your electrician and he can install them fairly cheap.  they look the same but run on house current.   always work and no need to change the batteries cause there are none.   they just hook into a dedicated circuit that is always hot

peace of mind is always a little extra cost  but worth it!!