JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Smoke alarms are a key part of a home fire escape plan.
When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast. Working smoke alarms give you early warning so you can get outside quickly.
Your ability to get out of your house during a fire depends on advance warning from smoke alarms and advance planning.
Smoke Alarm Safety Tips:
- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom. They should also be outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. Install alarms in the basement.
- Large homes may need extra smoke alarms.
- It is best to use interconnected smoke alarms. When one smoke alarm sounds, they all sound.
- Test all smoke alarms at least once a month. Press the test button to be sure the alarm is working.
- Current alarms on the market employ different types of technology including multi-sensing, which could include smoke and carbon monoxide combined.
- A smoke alarm should be on the ceiling or high on a wall. Keep smoke alarms away from the kitchen to reduce false alarms. They should be at least 10 feet (3 meters) from the stove.
- People who are hard-of-hearing or deaf can use special alarms. These alarms have strobe lights and bed shakers.
- Older adults or other people who are hard of hearing (those with mild to severe hearing loss) can use a device that emits a mixed, low-pitched sound. In its current form, this device is activated by the sound of a traditional smoke alarm.
- DON’T FORGET all smoke alarms should be tested at least monthly. Replace smoke alarms and equipment for people who are deaf or hard of hearing according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
- Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old.
Smoke Alarm Facts:
- A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire.
- Smoke alarms should be installed inside every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level. Smoke alarms should be connected so when one sounds, they all sound. Most homes do not have this level of protection.
- Roughly three out of five fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
To learn more about smoke alarms, visit the National Fire Protection Association’s website at https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Staying-safe/Safety-equipment/Smoke-alarms or contact the Joint Base San Antonio Fire Prevention Offices: JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, 210-221-1804; JBSA-Lackland, 210-671-2921; or JBSA-Randolph, 210-652-6915.