Fire Prevention Week Focuses on Smoke Alarms

October 4, 2010 –President Barack Obama has proclaimed October 3 – 9, 2010 as Fire Prevention Week. Many IAFF affiliates across the United States will be conducting fire safety education campaigns utilizing the theme for this year’s event “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You can Live With!”

Smoke alarms can and do mean the difference between life and death in a fire. But only if they are present, in working order and equally important, only if the correct alarm is installed.

“Citizens must upgrade their smoke alarms to make sure their homes are equipped with photoelectric smoke alarms,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger said. “Using better smoke alarms will drastically reduce the loss of life among fire fighters and citizens because it will mean fires will be found earlier, resulting in earlier response.”

It is the position of the IAFF that federal, state and provincial officials should require that all relevant building standards and codes developed in the United States and Canada include a mandate for the use of photoelectric smoke alarms. Research has clearly demonstrated that photoelectric smoke alarms are more effective at warning people of smoke from smoldering fires than ionization smoke alarms.

Fires that occur at night when everyone is asleep, resulting in a delayed discovery of a fire, tend to be smoldering fires – many caused by smoking materials. Smoldering fires are the leading cause of fire fatalities and photoelectric alarms detect these fires. With earlier warning, people have more time to escape a burning structure and enable a quicker call to the fire department.

Photoelectric smoke alarms contain a light source and a light-sensitive electric cell. Smoke entering the alarm deflects light onto the light-sensitive electric cell, triggering the alarm. These alarms are more sensitive to large particles given off during smoldering fires – the kind of fires that occur at night when people are asleep. They are also more sensitive to smoke involving the burning of plastic materials as well as to smoke that has drifted to other areas from the point of the fire origin.

Ionization smoke alarms have a small amount of radioactive material, and establish a small electric current between two metal plates, which sound an alarm when disrupted by smoke entering the chamber. These alarms are more sensitive to presence of extremely small particles of smoke that are typical of flaming fires. But the technology leads to a delayed warning for the smoldering fire. That can lead to greater loss of life among people in a burning structure and fire fighters, who are faced with a more developed fire. A delayed warning during a smoldering fire, especially at night, can incapacitate people who are sleeping and lead to death as fire spreads.

No home should be without a smoke alarm, and ionization alarms should continue to be used until a home can be equipped with those having photoelectric alarms.

Useful safety tips include:
• Install photoelectric or dual photoelectric/ionization smoke alarms.
• Test smoke alarms at least once a month using the test button, and make sure everyone in your home knows their sound.
• If an alarm “chirps,” warning the battery is low, replace the battery right away.
• Replace all smoke alarms, including alarms that use 10-year batteries and hard-wired alarms, when they’re 10 years old (or sooner) if they do not respond properly when tested.
• Never remove or disable a smoke alarm.