Smoke alarms play a very important part in keeping you and your family safe in a fire emergency. Working smoke alarms reduce the risk of fatalities in a fire by 50%. Smoke alarms save lives because they provide early warning of danger and give you additional time to escape from a fire.
Fire safety experts recommend every floor of your home to installed with smoke alarms. Smoke alarms should also be installed in every bedroom and hallways outside the bedrooms. It is also a good idea to install smoke alarms at critical points along your fire escape path. They will warn you if your escape path is filled with smoke.
There are two types of smoke alarms, ionisation and photoelectric. Ionisation smoke alarms are better at detecting fast flaming fires, such as cooking fires. Photoelectric smoke alarms are better at detecting smoldering fires, such as upholstery fires. For maximum protection it is advised to have both types of alarms in your house.
There are special smoke alarms for those with a hearing impairment. These smoke alarms will flash a very bright strobe of light when the alarm is activated. Another warning device is the shaker smoke alarm which vibrates a disc or mat which you place under your pillow or on top of the mattress you sleep on. When a fire is detected, the disc will vibrate and wake you up.
Smoke alarms need to be installed with long life batteries. This will assure that your smoke alarm will have the power it needs to protect you and your loved ones.
Smoke alarms should be tested monthly to ensure tehy are still working. This is easily done by pressing the TEST button on them. Smoke alarms also need to be cleaned to remove any dust, cowebs or pet hair that may have made its way into the detection unit. You can use compressed air or a hair dryer to blow out the debri.
Give LocalPro Electric a call if you need help installing smoke alarms which satisfy Australian Building codes. We can advise you the best smoke alarms to install and the ideal locations to put them.
