Smoke alarms save lives

Fire protection in the home must start with smoke alarms. You will not smell the smoke of a fire when you are asleep. The poisonous gases which are present in the smoke will put you into a deeper sleep. During a fire, the smoke alarm will sound and give you the time you need to escape.

A working smoke alarm cuts your risk of dying in a residential fire in half. Be sure to buy one that is approved by the ULC (Underwriter's Laboratory of Canada), or CSA (Canadian Standards Association). Even when you have smoke alarms installed, YOU MUST ensure they work. Statistics tell us that one-third of homes with smoke alarms that experience fires have smoke alarms that aren't working, and hundreds of people die each year in these fires. Most people who die in home fires are not in the room where the fire starts; working smoke alarms alert you to five and give you time to escape in a situation where minutes can mean the difference between life and death.

EVERY HOME SHOULD, have a smoke alarm outside each sleeping room and on every level of the home including the basement. Be sure everyone sleeping in the home can hear the alarm even when bedroom doors are closed. If you normally sleep with bedroom doors closed install a smoke alarm in each bedroom, especially if heaters or electrical appliances are used in these rooms. Most municipalities have by-laws that requires smoke alarms be installed on each level of the home.

BECAUSE SMOKE RISES, mount smoke alarms high on a wall or on the ceiling. Wall-mounted units should be mounted so that the top of the alarm is 6 to 12 inches from the ceiling. A ceiling mounted alarm should be at least 6 inches from the nearest wall. In a room with a pitched ceiling, mount the alarm at or near the ceiling's highest point. DON'T install a smoke alarm near a window, door, or forced-air register where drafts could interfere with the detector's operation.