Is it time to change your smoke alarm?
by Einar Jensen, Life Safety Educator South Metro Fire Rescue Authority
Although not everyone does it, most adults are familiar with the suggestion to change the batteries in their smoke alarms at least once if not twice each year and to test the smoke alarms monthly.
A Coloradan – Duane Pearsall – invented the residential smoke detector, which we now refer to as a smoke alarm because it also alerts people to the presence of smoke. Pearsall, who owned Statitrol Corp. in Lakewood, designed it to use batteries that could be replaced over time. Pearsall earned national recognition for the invention in 1976 from President Gerald Ford and in 1980 from the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.
Smoke alarms have a proven track record for saving lives, but they do age and lose their effectiveness. When they get too old, they may not detect smoke or they may signal an alarm for no reason at all. If your smoke alarms are interconnected that could mean that all your alarms activate when a single one “expires.”
Firefighters at South Metro Fire Rescue Authority’s Station 36 have responded to several such false alarms at homes in Castle Pines North recently.
SMFRA and the National Fire Protection Association recommend that smoke alarms be replaced every 10 years. If your home is at least 10 years old – as many of the homes in CPN are – it’s time to replace those smoke alarm units.
If those smoke alarms are part of a monitored system, contact your monitoring company for replacement information. If the smoke alarms aren’t part of a monitored system, simply purchase new ones and replace the old ones. Please remember to buy the new one and have it ready for installation before removing the old ones.
If you have additional questions about smoke alarms or any aspect of your personal, family or community safety, please contact SMFRA’s life safety education unit at 720-989-2271.
Smoke alarms: it’s a sound you can live with.
