Investigations into home fire deaths very often find that a smoke alarm did not sound. It may have been disconnected or not in working order. The batteries may have been dead, or someone may have taken them out.

Many fatal fires start at night. Smoke alone won’t necessarily wake you up. In fact, the fumes could put you into an even deeper sleep. Often, victims never wake up. Only a working smoke alarm can save your life.

The Canada Safety Council advises all Canadians to make sure their smoke alarms are working. A dead unit is worse than none at all — it can give you a false sense of security.

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A flaming fire burns combustibles quickly spreads rapidly and generates a lot of heat but only a little smoke. Cooking fat or grease, flammable liquids, newspapers, paint, and cleaning solutions all burn quickly and create more flames than smoke. Ionization type smoke alarms typically respond first to fast flaming fires. They are best suited for rooms that contain highly combustible materials.

 

A smouldering fire produces a lot of smoke but little heat. Careless smoking, for example, may lead to fires that can smoulder for hours before bursting into flame. Photoelectric type smoke alarms typically respond first to slow smouldering fires and are less prone to nuisance alarms near the kitchen area. These models are best suited for living rooms, bedrooms and near kitchens.

For maximum protection, install at least one ionization and one photoelectric type smoke alarm on each level of your home.