Smoke Detector Inspection Guidlines
| Smoke detectors are a simple and efficient way to protect homeowners from severe injury or even deaths which may result from fires in the home. The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimates that a home fire occurs every 66 seconds in the U.S. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates that having operating smoke detectors in the home reduce the possibility of dying from a fire by 50%. However, even though an estimated 13 out of 14 homes (93%) have at least one smoke detector, an estimated 1/3 of the smoke detectors are not properly maintained or operating. |  |
The value of smoke detectors is underestimated due to common misconceptions about their usefulness and a person's ability to detect a fire on their own. Here are some important facts about fires.
- The majority of fires occur at night when the occupants of a home are sleeping.
- If a fire starts in the living room of a home, occupants in a bedroom could be dead in as little as two minutes.
- Most victims of fires die of smoke asphyxiation.
- Smoke will NOT wake up the occupant. On the contrary, the gasses and smoke will numb the senses and cause unconsciousness.
Smoke detectors are designed to give the occupants in the home the few minutes they need to escape. For more information, click on the links below:
Additional Topics
Types of Detectors and How They Work
Where Detectors Should be Placed