How To Check Smoke Alarm Or Smoke Detector

Checking your smoke alarm is a very simple fire safety tip that is often overlooked.

Everyone knows that we should have smoke alarms or detectors in our homes, as a basic part of fire safety.

However, it is very easy to forget about them being there, and that means we might not be checking them as much as we should.

Therefore, as part of Fire Safety Week here is your reminder to check smoke alarms, like we all should.

The Importance Of Smoke Alarms And Detectors

"Smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a reported fire in half."

The source of this information is from the National Fire Protection Association, which sponsors the National Fire Prevention Week.

That statistic alone convinces me I should check my smoke detector more often.

Smoke Detector And Alarm Basics

1. You should have multiple smoke alarms in your home, at least one on each level, including your basement.

2. You should also make sure that one smoke detector is located in each bedroom, or if not in it right outside it. This is very important because if you or your kids are asleep you need the alarm to be close, so you can hear it through your sleep.

3. Ideally your smoke alarms will all be interconnected, meaning if one goes off they will all go off. This can help alert everyone in the home, no matter where they are, that there is a fire. A licensed electrician should be able to help you accomplish this task.

4. You should check a smoke alarm at least monthly. I know that seems like a lot, and I myself have been guilty of not doing it. However, all you have to do is punch the test button, so it's quite simple.

If you can't bring yourself to do it monthly, at a minimum do it each time it is Daylight Saving Time, which happens twice a year! (You can see even more things you could also do at the beginning and end of DST each year at the link as well.)

5. You should replace your smoke detector's batteries at least once a year, whether you think they need replacing or not. This is not the type of equipment where you want to have dead batteries, and not know it. I suggest changing the batteries when DST begins, or ends, each year from now, similarly to how you use those occurrences to remind yourself to test that the detector is still working.

6. If your smoke detectors are more than 10 years old, you should replace your smoke alarm with a new one (referral link).

Learn More From The Fire Safety Series Here On The Site

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