• Ensurethatsmokedetectorsareeasilyaccessiblefortestandmaintenance
purposes.
• Donotinstalltheminroomswithhighairhumidity(showerrooms,bathrooms,
kitchensorutilityrooms),inroomswithhightemperaturefluctuations(>+50°
or<+0°C)orinroomsinwhichthedetectorsmaybecomecontaminatedby
vehicleemissions,dustanddirt(garages,boilerrooms,etc.).Useaheatdetec-
torhereifnecessary.
• Donotinstallsmokedetectorsontheceilingsofmobilehomes,caravansor
similarspaces.Inmobilehomesandcaravans,thesmokedetectorshouldbe
installed on internal panels (walls) in order to avoid a thermal barrier, which
canbuildupunderceilings.Thesun’sraysheattheceilingandtheairinthe
upperpartofthespace.Hotairundertheceilingcanpreventthesmokeofa
dangerous,smoulderingfirefromreachingthesmokedetector;thereforeplace
yoursmokedetectoronthewallofthemobilehome,caravanorsimilarspace.
Basic principles of an escape plan
Drawupafloorplanwhichincludesalldoorsandwindows,andatleasttwo
escaperoutesfromeachroom.Windowsonthefirstfloormayrequirearopeor
ladder.Holdafamilymeetingtodiscusstheescapeplanandtelleveryonewhat
theyneedtodointheeventofafire.Specifyalocationoutsideofyourhouse
asameetingpointintheeventofafire.Familiariseeveryoneinyourhousehold
withthenoiseofthesmokealarmsystemandaskthattheyallleavethehouse
iftheyhearthisnoise.Identifychildren’sbedroomswitharedstickerinthetop
leftcornerofthewindowpane.Thesestickersareavailablefromyourlocalfire
service.
Holdafiredrillevery6monthsasaminimum.Suchdrillshelpyoutestyour
escapeplanbeforeyouneedtouseitinanemergency.Itmaybethatyoucan-
notreachyourchildrenontime.Itisthereforeimportantthatyourchildrenknow
whattodo.
What to do when an alarm sounds
Leavethehouseasspecifiedinyourescapeplan.Everysecondcounts,sodo
notwasteanytimegettingdressedortakingobjectsofvalue.Whenleavingthe
building,donotopenanydoorwithoutfirstcheckingitssurface.Ifitishot,orif
youseesmokecominginunderthedoor,donotopenit!
Useanalternativeescaperouteinstead.Ifthesurfaceofthedooriscool,press
yourshoulderagainstitandopenthedoorslightly.Bepreparedtoshutitagain
ifyouencounterheatorsmoke.Keepclosetothefloorifthereissmokeinthe
room.Breathethroughadampclothifpossible.Assoonasyouareoutside,go
immediatelytoyouragreedassemblypoint.Checkthateveryoneispresent.A
listofindividualswillhelp.Whenyouareoutside,callthefireserviceusingyour
mobilephoneoraneighbour’stelephone.Donotgobackintothehouseuntilthe
fireservicegivesyoupermission.
False alarm
Afalsealarmcan,forexample,betriggeredbythefollowingcircumstances: