Tips to installing smoke alarms
Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement.
For the best protection, install interconnected smoke alarms in your home. When one sounds, they all sound.
- Best place to mount your smoke alarm is on the ceiling
- Keep smoke alarms at least 4-6 inches away from the nearest wall
- Always test your newly installed smoke alarm
- If you cannot mount the alarm on the ceiling, install it high on the wall 4-12 inches from the ceiling
Test Smoke Alarm
Test alarms at least once a month by pushing the test button. A working smoke alarm can decrease a family’s risk of dying in a fire by nearly 50 percent.
When you change your clocks, it is also time to change the batteries in your smoke alarms. Larger homes may need more alarms. Batteries from household smoke alarms may be recycled at your nearest household hazardous waste recycling facility.
Just installing a smoke alarm is NOT enough. It needs to be tested monthly and the batteries changed every six months. Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or if they do not sound when tested.
What to do when the alarm sounds
Some people, especially children and older adults, may need help to wake up. Make sure someone will wake them if the smoke alarm sounds.
When the smoke alarm sounds, get outside and stay outside. Go to your outside meeting place.
Call the fire department from a cellphone or a neighbor’s phone. Stay outside until the fire department says it’s safe to go back inside.
