
DG333ManualPage5of62008 CONVOYSECURITY
FIGURE 6
CLEANING YOURALARM
Toclean youralarm,removeitfromthemountingbracket
asoutlinedinthebeginningofthissection.Youcanclean
youralarmbyusingcompressedairoryourvacuum
cleanerhosetobloworsuck airthrough theopenings
aroundtheperimeterof thealarm. Theoutsideof thealarm
can bewipedwithadampcloth.
Aftercleaning,reinstallyouralarm.Testyouralarmby
usingthetestbutton.
7. LIMITATIONSOFSMOKEALARMS
WARNING:
PLEASE READ CAREFULLYAND THOROUGHLY.
Smokealarmsaredevicesthatcanprovideearlywarning
ofpossiblefiresatareasonablecost;however,alarms
havesensinglimitations.Ionizationtypealarmsoffera
broad rangeoffiresensingcapabilitiesbutarebetterat
detecting fastflamingfiresthanslowsmoldering fires.
Photoelectricalarmssensesmolderingfiresbetterthan
flamingfires.Homefiresdevelop indifferentwaysand are
oftenunpredictable.
Neithertypeofalarm(photoelectricorionization)isalways
best, andagivenalarmmaynotalwaysprovidewarningof
afire.
Abatterypoweredalarmmusthaveabatteryofthe
specifiedtype,ingood conditionandinstalledproperly.
A.C.poweredalarmswillnotoperateiftheA.C.power
hasbeencutoff,suchasbyanelectricalfireoranopen
fuse.
Smokealarmsmustbetestedregularlytomakesurethe
batteriesand thealarmcircuitsareingood operating
condition.
Smokealarmscannotprovidean alarmifsmokedoes
notreachthealarm.Therefore,smokealarmsmaynot
sensefiresstarting inchimneys,walls,on roofs,on the
othersideof acloseddoororonadifferentfloor.
Ifthealarmislocatedoutsidethebedroomorona
different floor, it maynot wakeupasoundsleeper.
Theuseof alcoholordrugsmayalsoimpairone’sability
tohearthesmokealarm.Formaximumprotection,a
smokealarmshouldbeinstalledineachsleeping areaon
everylevelofahome.
Althoughsmokealarmscanhelpsavelivesbyproviding
an earlywarning ofafire,theyarenotasubstituteforan
insurancepolicy.Homeownersandrentersshouldhave
adequateinsurancetoprotecttheirlivesandproperty.
8. GOODSAFETYHABITS
DEVELOPANDPRACTICEAPLANOFESCAPE
Makeafloorplanindicatingalldoorsandwindowsandat
leasttwo(2)escaperoutesfromeachroom.Secondstory
windowsmayneedaropeorchainladder.
Haveafamilymeetinganddiscussyourescapeplan,
showingeveryonewhattodoincaseof fire.
Determineaplaceoutsideyourhomewhereyouallcan
meetifafireoccurs.
Familiarizeeveryonewiththesoundofthesmokealarm
and trainthemtoleaveyourhomewhentheyhearit.
Practiceafiredrillatleasteverysixmonths.Practice
allowsyoutotestyourplanbeforeanemergency. You may
notbeabletoreachyourchildren.It isimportanttheyknow
whattodo.
WHATTO DO WHENTHEALARMSOUNDS
Leaveimmediatelybyyourescapeplan.Everysecond
counts,sodon’twastetimegetting dressedorpicking up
valuables.
Inleaving, don’topenanyinsidedoorwithoutfirstfeeling
itssurface.Ifhot, orifyousee smokeseeping through
cracks, don’topenthatdoor!Instead, useyouralternateexit.
Iftheinsideofthedooriscool,placeyourshoulderagainst
it,openitslightlyandbereadytoslamitshutifheatand
smokerushin.
Stayclosetotheflooriftheairissmoky.Breathe
shallowlythroughacloth,wet ifpossible.
Onceoutside,gotoyourselectedmeeting placeand
makesureeveryoneisthere.
Callthefiredepartmentfromyourneighbor’shome-not
fromyours!
Don’t returntoyourhomeuntilthefireofficialssaythat it
isall righttodo so.
Therearesituationswhereasmokealarmmaynotbe
effectivetoprotectagainstfireasstatedintheNFPA
Standard72. Forinstance:
a)smokinginbed
b)leavingchildrenhomealone
c)cleaning withflammableliquids,suchasgasoline
Furtherinformationonfiresafetycanbeobtainedina
pamphlettitled “INAFIRESECONDSCOUNT”published
bytheNFPA, BatterymarchPark,Quincy, MA02269
9. NFPAREQUIREDPROTECTION
TheNationalFireProtectionAssociation’sStandard72
readsasfollows:
2-2.1.1.1Smokealarmsshall beinstalledoutsideeach
separatesleepingareaintheimmediatevicinityofthe
bedroomsandoneachadditionalstoryofthefamilyliving
unit, includingbasementsandexcluding crawlspacesand
unfinishedattics.Innewconstruction,asmokealarmshall
beinstalledineachsleeping room.
A-2.5.2.1SmokeDetection-AreMoreSmokeDetectors
Desirable?Therequired numberofsmokealarmsmightnot
providereliableearlywarning protectionforthoseareas
separatedbyadoorfromtheareasprotectedbythe
requiredsmokealarms.
Forthisreason,itisrecommendedthatthehouseholder
considertheuseofadditionalsmokealarmsforthoseareas
forincreasedprotection.Theadditionalareasincludethe
basement, bedrooms,diningroom,furnaceroom,utility
room,andhallwaysnotprotectedbytherequiredsmoke
alarms.Theinstallation of thesmokealarmsinthekitchen,
attic(finishedorunfinished),orgarageisnormallynot