Polk Township Vol. Fire Dept.

Smoke Detectors

At the bare minimum, you should have one detector for each level in your home. A detector needs to be placed within ten (10) feet of all sleeping areas, since most fire deaths occur at night while people are sleeping.

The detector should be mounted high on the wall, or, at best, on the ceiling. It should never be placed in the dead-air space in juncture of the wall and ceiling.

Avoid installing a detector near bathrooms with showers. Steam can sometimes cause false alarms and the moisture can rust metal components of the detector.

Every detector comes with testing instructions. Activitating the testing mechanism once a month should be sufficient. Once or twice a year, vacuum the detector to remove any dust or cobwebs. This will cut down on false alarms. Most battery powered smoke detectors will 'chirp' sporadically when the battery is weak. Always test battery powered detectors after a vacation or having been away from home for a week or more. The battery may have gone dead and you may have missed its warning alarm. It is recommended that batteries be changed once a year. The media has helped greatly with the 'Change your clock....Change your battery' campaign.

The advent of detectors powered by the current in your house wires is appealing because you never have to worry about battery replacement. They can be wired together so that if a fire starts in the basement of a two story house, all the detectors will sound immediately.

However, if you have hard-wired detectors, a problem can occur if there is a power failure due to storm, fire, etc. The detectors will not sound without electrical power. There are now AC powered units on the market with a battery backup. As an alternative, install a battery powered unit near each AC powered unit. This dual power source method provides additional detection as well!

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John D. Einhorn
Sources: IAFC, NFPA