65% of home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms that work or no smoke alarms at all. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast and you need smoke alarms to give you time to get out.
Smoke alarms that are properly installed and maintained play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries. Having a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a reported fire in half.
Smoke alarms are the single most important item to help you survive a fire. While fire doesn’t have to happen, when it does, early warning is imperative for escape. The smoke alarm laws in Oregon have become more complicated in recent years. Here are the facts to help sort it out and make your life safer.
ANY smoke alarm that has reached the age of 10 years has lost much of its reliability and should be replaced.
Safety Tips
- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement. Smoke alarms in new construction are required to be interconnected. Smoke alarms that are interconnected will all sound when one is activated.
- Carbon monoxide alarms are not a substitute for smoke alarms.
- Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.
- Place smoke alarms on ceilings. Smoke rises: the higher up the alarm is, the sooner it will warn you of smoke. Avoid the space within 12 inches of a wall (if on the ceiling). If wall mounted, the top must be at least 4 inches below the ceiling and the bottom not more than 12 inches below the ceiling.
- Replace batteries in all smoke alarms at least once a year. If an alarm “chirps”, warning the battery is low, replace the battery right away.
- Replace all smoke alarms, including alarms that use 10-year batteries and hard-wired alarms, when they are 10 years old or sooner if they do not respond properly.
- Be sure the smoke alarm has the label of a recognized testing laboratory.
- Alarms that are hard-wired (and include battery backup) must be installed by a qualified electrician.
- Smoke alarms are available for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. These devices use strobe lights. Vibration devices can be added to these alarms
- Smoke alarms are an important part of a home fire escape plan.
- If you have ceilings that are pitched, install the alarm near the ceiling’s highest point.
- Don’t install smoke alarms near windows, doors, or ducts where drafts might interfere with their operation.
- Never paint smoke alarms. Paint, stickers, or other decorations could keep the alarms from working.