Fire and Smoke Alarms

A smoke detector is designed to activate an alarm if smoke is detected. It does not matter if the unit is hard wired or battery operated. This is its job. In a hard wired system you can interconnect the alarms if a three wire is used between units. The black and white wires are used to power the unit and the third red wire can be inter connected to the alarms in each one of the other detectors in the same system. Hence if one smoke detector alarm trips, the horn alarms in all of the other detectors will go in to an alarm state. This is a very good safety factor and units should be wired this way. For example if a detector trips in the basement at night and there are closed doors between floors you might not hear the alarm in your upstairs bedroom. If all of the alarms sound upstairs and down no matter which unit tripped, you are bound to hear them, no matter what part of the house you are in.

My 5th grade student has been fooling around in school, throwing his backpack at the fire alarm and trying to set it off. We do not think it was completely intentional, but he did cause it to happen. He received a 5 day suspension, he must go to counseling and must take part in a mandatory diversion program though the police department. Plus, we had to pay a $200 fine.

It depends upon where the fire is, among other things. If the fire is in the woods, you would try to contact the local fire department or forestry officials.

If the fire is in a commercial building, there may be fire alarm pull stations near the exit doors and one of those should be activated as soon as possible.

If the fire is in a dwelling, there may be smoke alarms (23 percent of which don't work due to dead or missing batteries), and additional alarms can be raised by shouting "fire", blowing a whistle, banging on walls and doors, ringing the doorbell and banging on anything else that will make noise. This may be an ineffective alarm for anyone who is deaf.

Many buildings and homes have alarm systems connected to monitoring systems that will contact the fire department for an emergency.

Some cities install and maintain "fire boxes" located on buildings or on posts in near the streets, where opening a door and pulling a switch sends a signal to the fire department.

Obviously, the way to "raise the alarm" with the fire department varies somewhat by jurisdiction, but many places have a standardized number, such as "9-1-1" to dial for help on a telephone. Other places (such as in Europe) use 999 or 112 for fire. Each country has its own standards, if any.

A good smoke alarm should have a power source from a battery so it is sure to go off in the event of a power failure. Be sure to test your smoke alarms regularly to ensure the batteries are in good working order.

Hearing a high pitched "beep" throughout the house? Check your smoke alarm! This annoying sound is their way of telling you to change the batteries or that something is wrong with it.

user comment: that doesn't really answer "why?" it goes off.

Most smoke detectors utilize a photo eye to receive the transmission of an infrared laser a short distance away. If the light being transmitted is not being received, or is only being partially received, the detector goes into alarm. As water is known to refract and distort light, this is likely why a wet detector is going into alarm.

Americium-241 ionizes the air inside a smoke detector, making a small change in voltage when smoke is present.

Actually steam can set it off. According to the USFA website, you should not mount a smoke alarm within 3 feet of a bathroom or kitchen to avoid this possibility. Apparently, smoke alarms tend to be more sensitive when the house is colder, so an open window and a smoke alarm close to the bathroom could result in it going off. http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pyfff/smkalarm.html

Yes, if the smoke alarm has replaceable batteries, they should be replaced at least once per year.

While you're at it, you should also test the smoke alarm BEFORE you remove the old batteries, to see if it was already dead, and perhaps test the old batteries before you dispose of them. That way you might determine whether your old batteries were already putting you at risk and, if so, perhaps start changing or testing them more frequently.

because it probably has a heat detector in the alarm therefor it goes off.

Yes, it is illegal to "pull an alarm" unless there is a fire or other emergency. In many places it is a simple misdemeanor, for which you could get up to one year in state prison, although many cases result in lesser plea bargains.

However, if anyone is injured or killed while responding to the false alarm, that could be a felony, with a much larger fine and prison sentence. In addition, the victims could easily sue the person responsible for causing the false alarm.

Consider also that any false alarm results in the same initial effort and expense as a true alarm, meaning that personnel and equipment are pulled from their ordinary standby locations to respond. If an actual emergency occurs while the units are out at a false alarm, the person causing the false alarm can be legally held liable for the foreseeable consequences of denying timely help to others who need it.

Brinks Home Security is number 1 in home security for monitoring and technology. Though security systems can be done by an individual, a great place for small do it yourself systems can be found at Amazon and GE.

Many deaf people use a Silent Call system that automatically picks up things like fire alarms, and door bells, which it transmits to a flashing light/vibration receiving unit that the person keeps with them.

There is no codes requiring that you replace your entire system after a certain amount of time. All smoke detectors should be replaced after about 10 years, but most fire inspectors won't do much. As long as it works and passes its quarterly/semi-annual/annual testing, then you should be fine.

NFPA 1 Fire Code requires that all smoke detectors be replaced when they fail the periodic sensitivity testing. Since many consumer products cannot be effectively field tested without damaging them, they must be replaced every ten years - same for CO detectors.

You should have at least one in each room. And one in each hallway. My house has a total of 23 smoke alarms

If there is a fire on board a ship, I would jump off the ship and tell others to do the same, to save myself and them.

Walk in an orderly fashion to the fire point, nearest to your cabin, then await further instructions from who ever is in charge.

I don't think so. Try it.

The answer as of 3/22/10 is YES!!! I had this happen to me today while teaching a science class at a school with very little fog used. BE CAREFUL!!!! I had the fire department come out and everything. SO YES, IT DOES WORK!!!!!!!

Typically, it's a ringing bell which tend to be quite loud, or a distinct siren/klaxon.

Smoke alarms are essential for protecting your home and your family from fires and smoke inhalation. Smoke alarms are early warning systems that allow you time to access fire extinguishers, call the fire department or safely evacuate your home. It is recommened to install one smoke alarm in every bedroom, the kitchen, and any area with potential fire hazards. You can buy a basic smoke alarm for around $12.

There is no particular standard for batteries in fire alarms (or smoke alarms). They may be sealed and non-replaceable (you dispose of the entire unit after ten years); or 9-volt radio batteries, or AA-size alkaline cells, or similar.

In a fire-alarm control panel the battery backup unit is often a sealed lead-acid battery (12 volts or 24 volts), which must also be replaced from time to time.

A fire alarm is a comprehensive system designed to detect fires and alert occupants through various components, including smoke detectors, heat detectors, and alarm sounders. In contrast, a smoke alarm specifically detects smoke as an indicator of fire, typically using photoelectric or ionization sensors. While smoke alarms can be part of a fire alarm system, they primarily focus on smoke detection, whereas fire alarms encompass a broader range of fire detection and alert mechanisms.

It might need a replacement battery in a detector or may need resetting. If after reset continues to beep it may have some connection failing due to a rusted or broken contact.

Smoke alarms "save lives" by providing an audible and sometimes visual indication that smoke has been detected. If someone were to remain unaware of the smoke, it could allow a fire to grow and spread dangerously.

Smoke alarms are designed to be loud enough to wake up a sleeping person who might otherwise perish due to smoke inhalation or becoming trapped by fire.

Smoke alarms provide an additional level of safety that can work as one element in a life safety plan. Like any other alarm, if there is nobody to respond to it, the value is questionable, but if someone CAN respond and get to safety, then it is worth having.

Because it is for LIFE SAFETY.

First of all you did not provide a model number for the some alarm, but I looked at some models that I found online it looks like some have a front door that you can open up with out taken it off the wall eaither by swing it upen or pushing the door open.