Fire Alarms Can Save Lives
Fire alarms help prevent death and property damage. While they can be pricey for a large system, fire alarms are worth every penny. In order to work effectively, fire alarms must be properly maintained. The entire system must also work together to save lives, property, and be economical. Smoke and heat detectors work with sprinkler systems to alert people to fire while extinguishing flames before the fire can spread.
The most important part of any fire alarm system is the smoke detector. Smoke detectors can save your life by alerting you to smoke from fire. You can find many smoke detectors that can also detect the odorless, but deadly carbon monoxide. Most rooms in the home should be equipped with a smoke detector. The number of smoke detectors in your home is determined by its size. Some areas may require several smoke detectors. All smoke detectors rely on batteries for power. Newly built homes will have smoke detectors already hooked to the electrical wiring, but they still contain a backup battery. Change your battery at least once a year, and check each smoke detector to make sure it works.
Heat detectors work with smoke detectors by alerting you to a dramatic change in temperature. Rate-of-rise heat detectors alert you to your home’s temperature change over a certain period of time, usually one minute. Any time your home’s temperature changes quickly the alarm will sound. Fixed temperature heat detectors will alert you when your home’s temperature reaches a specific fixed measurement.
Heat detectors can be used to compliment your fire alarm system, but it should never replace a smoke detector. By the time the heat detector sounds, the fire could have already spread rapidly around your home. Heat detectors are great to pair with smoke detectors because you can use them in places where smoke detectors are not allowed. The kitchen, for example, is one place that smoke detectors cannot be placed; so using a heat detector can alert you to a kitchen fire before a smoke detector in another room. Fixed temperature heat detectors are perfect for the kitchen since the rate-of-rise detector may sound when cooking due to a rapid rise in temperature.
Sprinklers cannot alert you to smoke or heat, but they can come in handy when a fire does break out. Sprinkler systems release water when a designated temperature is reached. The individual sprinkler heads will only activate if the temperature below hits this designated temperature threshold. This means that the sprinkler heads closest to the fire will activate, allowing more water to extinguish the fire before it spreads to other areas.
A sprinkler system will cause water damage to your home, but not having one can cause even more water and fire damage. Firefighters use more water than sprinkler systems to put out fires. Many times, the house is so engulfed in flames by the time the firefighters get to your home that it causes more fire damage.
Fire alarms have saved numerous lives. Smoke detectors are a necessary part of any fire alarm system. A combination of a smoke detector, heat detector, and sprinkler system can save property and lives.
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