As we turn our clocks back this Sunday, November 1st for the end of daylight saving, take a few extra minutes to check your smoke alarms.
Smoke alarms save lives. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast and you need smoke alarms to warn you so that you have time to get out. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), working smoke alarms decrease the risk of dying in reported home fires by nearly half.
Some important tips to remember regarding smoke alarms:
- Please make sure smoke alarms are installed inside each bedroom, outside every bedroom/sleeping area, and on every level of your home.
- Make sure your smoke alarms are working. When smoke alarms fail to operate, it is usually because batteries are missing, disconnected or dead. Testing smoke alarms monthly is a good idea. Replace batteries once a year or, when the low-battery alarm chirps. This is also a great time to check carbon monoxide alarms.
- Smoke alarms that are interconnected are much more efficient because a fire detected by any smoke alarm will sound an alarm at every location where a smoke alarm is installed. Interconnected smoke alarms provide early warning of fires that are still far away or are located on the other side of a door or wall that may block sound.
- Develop and practice an escape plan so that everyone in the home knows what to do and where to go when the smoke alarm sounds. The best-case scenario would be two ways out of every room. A household that practices an escape plan is much more prepared and likely to successfully exit the home in the event of a real fire.
- There are two types of smoke alarms – ionization and photoelectric. Ionization detectors are generally more responsive to flaming fires, whereas photoelectric detectors are more sensitive to fires that begin slowly, with a long “smoldering period” for example a fire caused by an unattended cigarette.
- For best protection use both types of smoke alarm There are combination alarms that include both technologies in a single device.
- When a smoke alarm activates, please do not assume it is a false alarm. If there is a question about what activated the smoke alarm , please call your local fire department or district. For the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District, please call 775-831-0351, ext. 0 to speak with someone in person or visit nltfpd.net.