City of Mansfield - Fire Department: Smoke Detectors

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Mansfield Fire Department

Smoke Detectors

When fire occurs in your home, your chances for survival are two times better when smoke detectors are present than when they are not. Smoke detectors, when properly installed and maintained (following manufacturer's directions), provide an early warning when a fire occurs. This early warning increases your likelihood of survival and gives the fire department a better chance to save more of your property.

Safety Advice

For your protection, install a smoke detector outside of each bedroom or sleeping area and on every level of your home.
Keep your smoke detectors properly maintained. Test them at least once each month to ensure that they are working properly. Batteries in battery-operated detectors should be changed at least once yearly. Use only the type of batteries recommended on the detector.
If your smoke detector sounds an alarm when no smoke is present, consult with the Mansfield Fire Department. If smoke from cooking materials causes the detector to sound an alarm, do not remove the batteries or disconnect the power source. Simply fan the smoke away from the detector until the alarm stops. If this happens frequently, it may be necessary to relocate the detector or to install a different type of detector.
Develop an escape plan and review it with all members of the family frequently. Be aware that children and elderly people may need special assistance should fire occur. Establish a meeting place outside the house for all members of the family to assure that everyone gets out safely. If a fire starts, get out of the house and use a neighbor's telephone to notify the fire department.

Smoke Detector Maintenance Test - Test your smoke detector at least once a month by pushing the test button. You may also use canned test smoke, do not try to produce your own smoke to test your smoke detector.
Clean - Clean your detector at least once a year. Dust with a vacuum cleaner.
Replace - Replace the battery each year. Use the battery type listed on the detector.

Facts

In Ohio, there is a residential fire every half hour.
Over 75% of fire deaths occur in residences.
The installation of just one smoke detector doubles your chances of escaping a nighttime fire.
When you purchase a smoke detector, be sure that it contains the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) label.

In support of smoke detector effectiveness, many cities and states have laws requiring the installation of smoke detectors in dwellings. Check with the Mansfield Fire Department or State Fire Marshal for further information.

Smoke Detectors Save Lives
The majority of fatal home fires happen at night when people are asleep. Contrary to popular belief, the smell of smoke may not wake a sleeping person. The poisonous gases and smoke produced by a fire can numb the senses quickly and put you into a deeper sleep.

By sounding an alarm and alerting you to a fire in time to escape, an inexpensive household smoke detector can cut your chances of dying in a residential fire in half. Smoke detectors, also known as "smoke alarms," save so many lives that 39 sates have laws requiring them in private homes.

Where to Install

Because smoke rises, mount detectors high on a wall or on the ceiling. Wall-mounted units should be mounted 4 to 12 inches from the ceiling, and a ceiling-mounted unit should be positioned at least 4 inches from the nearest wall. In rooms with high, pitched ceilings, mount the detector at or near the ceiling's highest point.

In open stairways (no doors at the top or bottom), position smoke detectors anywhere in the path of smoke moving up the stairs. But always position smoke detectors at the bottom of closed stairways, such as those leading to the basement, because dead air trapped near the door at the top of a stairway could prevent smoke from reaching the detector's smoke sensor.

Don't install a smoke detector too close to a window, door, or forced-air register where drafts could interfere with the unit's operation.

In the event of fire, being awakened by a smoke detector can be disorienting. How your family responds in a fire depends on how well you've prepared.

Make sure everyone knows the sound of the detector's alarm and how to respond.
Plan escape routes in advance, and include at least two ways out of each room --especially bedrooms.
Decide on a safe location outside your home, and instruct all residents to meet there in the event of fire so you'll be sure everyone is out. Do not go back into the building.
Practice your escape plan at least twice a year.
Have one person call Mansfield Fire Department from a neighbor's phone. Tell the dispatcher your name, address, the exact location of the fire, and whether anyone is still in the building. Stay on the phone until the dispatcher tells you to hang up.
Respond quickly to a smoke alarm as you may have only a minute or two to safely escape.

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