Quote:
Originally Posted by cromag
When we moved into our house, a little more than 20 years ago, we made an addition and had to bring the smoke detectors up to the current code for new construction. This called for one smoke detector on every floor (in our case, since we live in a split-level, this meant twice as many as you'd expect, plus one for the attic that we turned into a new room) plus one for every bedroom. They are AC powered (so they keep working if the home owner neglects to replace a bad battery) with battery back-up (in case the fire occurs during a power failure), and all interconnected (so if the one in the basement senses smoke the ones in the bedrooms will go off and wake every one up). This is the current code in the US, as far as I know. You can read details here:
http://www.nfpa.org/safety-informati...t/smoke-alarms
On the left side of the page there are links to safety and placement tips.
If you don't have any smoke detectors, than any you get would be better than none. The placement would be pretty much the same. One on every floor (since you don't know where a fire would start) and in each bedroom (to wake occupants) -- with the limitation that simple battery-powered detectors, while better than nothing, won't "communicate" with each other. Since smoke rises, most people put them on the ceiling, but don't put them too close to doorways which might draw smoke away from the detector.
Many people assume that they will wake up if they smell smoke -- but most firemen will tell you that they don't.
Seriously, this is cheap insurance. |
It's not about money or anything really. Where I come from, smoke detectors are very uncommon in homes. They are required in public buildings though. Unlike in the US, the fire codes and standards here do not mandate the installation of smoke alarms in houses. Also, houses here are all made of either stone or concrete, so they're less flammable. That's why I never really thought of having smoke alarms until I read your post. I'm sure it'll be mandatory in the next couple of years. Thank you for the link!