Smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, are essential parts of keeping homes safe

Smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors, are essential parts of keeping homes safe. When you hear the beep, get on your feet. Learn the sounds of fire safety and stay safe from harm.

With Fire Prevention Week coming up from Oct. 5-11, people need to know what to listen for to keep themselves and their loved ones safe.

Smoke alarms

Smoke alarms are essential for a safe home fire escape plan. Working smoke alarms provide crucial early warnings, allowing sufficient time to evacuate before smoke becomes overwhelming. 

Your ability to escape depends on both the early notification from working smoke alarms and a well-practiced escape plan, according to fire safety experts.

Working smoke alarms, when properly installed and maintained, are crucial for reducing fire-related deaths and injuries by providing early warning, allowing for a quick escape. 

Fires spread rapidly, and having a functioning smoke alarm dramatically increases the chances of a safe evacuation. 

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 that 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.

Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide, nicknamed the "invisible killer," is a colorless, odorless, and invisible gas produced when fuels like gasoline, wood, natural gas, and propane burn incompletely.

This can occur in homes from malfunctioning heating and cooking equipment that use fuel, making it a potential source of deadly carbon monoxide poisoning within the home.

• Carbon monoxide (CO) alarms should be strategically placed. Install them in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of your home, as well as in any other areas mandated by local regulations. For optimal safety, connect all CO alarms throughout the house so that when one activates, they all sound, ensuring comprehensive coverage.
• Test CO alarm at least once a month; replace them according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Always start and warm up your vehicle outdoors. If you must warm up your car, immediately move it out of the garage after starting it. Running a vehicle or other fuel-powered engine indoors, even with the garage door open, is dangerous due to the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. 
• A generator should be used in a well-ventilated location outdoors away from windows, doors, and vent openings.
• Have fuel-burning heating equipment and chimneys inspected by a professional every year before cold weather sets in. When using a fireplace, open the flue for adequate ventilation. Never use your oven to heat your home.
• If the CO alarm sounds, immediately move to a fresh air location outside or by an open window or door. Make sure everyone inside the home is accounted for. Call for help from a fresh air location and stay there until emergency personnel declare that it is safe to re-enter the home.

Fire 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 3 out of 5 fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
• A person can be poisoned by a small amount of CO over a longer period or by a large amount of CO over a shorter amount of time.

To learn more about smoke alarms, visit the National Fire Protection Association website at www.nfpa.org/education or contact the fire prevention offices at Joint base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston at 210-221-1804, at JBSA-Lackland at 210-671-2921, or at JBSA-Randolph at 210-652-6915.