August 30, 2007

Smoke detector safety education

       We as fire services have a responsibility to educate our customers on fire safety issues.  Our mission is to educate the fire service and alert the public.  Based on recent testing, ionization smoke detectors, by themselves, may not activate quickly enough during smoldering fires for the occupants to safely escape the life-threatening environment.

         The most deadly time for a fire to occur in the home is when the occupants are asleep.  The by-products of smoke are the leading cause of death for these fires.  We do not recommend the removal of existing ionization smoke alarms.  However, we strongly recommend installing a combination of photoelectric and ionization smoke alarms in homes, to provide the best chance of escape for all types of fires.  It is imperative every resident evaluate his or her smoke detection system to ensure there is sufficient protection in every home.
 

Basic Protection:

• Battery operated independent smoke alarms that utilize only ionization sensing.
   

Better Protection:

• A system of photoelectric AND ionization (or dual-sensor) smoke alarms.
   

Even Better protection:

• A system of photoelectric AND ionization (or dual sensor) smoke alarms that are inter-connected so that all will sound when one detects a fire.
   

Best Protection:

• A system of photoelectric AND ionization (or dual-sensor) smoke alarms that are inter-connected so that all will sound when one detects a fire.
• All of the above PLUS a residential fire sprinkler system that will extinguish a fire when it gets big enough to activate the sprinkler head.

 

Background Information, based on recent testing:
 

1.     IONIZATION ALARMS:

a.  Ionization smoke detectors may not activate quickly enough during smoldering fires to prevent
     someone from becoming overcome with smoke and its toxic by-products.

b.  Ionization smoke detectors do activate with an acceptable reaction time during flaming fires.

2.     PHOTOELECTRIC ALARMS:

a.  During a smoldering fire, photoelectric smoke detectors have been shown to activate soon
     enough for  people to react and survive.

b.  Photoelectric smoke detectors also perform well during flaming fire.

3.      All major manufacturers of smoke detectors provide this information on their packaging.

4.      Over the last two decades, most likely due to their lower cost, ionization smoke detectors were sold to the
         general public and homebuilders in much larger numbers than photoelectrical detectors.

5.      By virtue of improved labeling on smoke detector packaging, it is apparent that manufacturers have also
         recognized the limitation of ionization detectors in smoldering fire situations and the value of including
         photoelectric smoke alarms in every home fire detection plan.

6.      Much more needs to be done to educate both the public and the fire service about this issue.  The fire
         service must take the initiative to educate itself, and further educate the communities it serves.

 

See the related story "What type of detector do you have?" from July 26th by clicking HERE.
 
   

---