Safehouse Quiet Reset Smoke Alarm  
(490-0458)                 Safety Guidelines          Faxback Doc. # 34306

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

Smoke alarms, properly installed and maintained, play an essential part
of a good fire safety program.  Your fire safety program should also
include a review of fire hazards and the elimination of dangerous
conditions whenever possible.  Most importantly, when fire strikes, a
prepared and practiced escape plan can make the difference between life and
death.  Your local fire department might be willing to assist you in this
regard.  Call them and ask.  Start your fire safety awareness program
tonight.

Consider and discuss the following safety guidelines:

- Ensure that all occupants are familiar with the alarm signal.

- Test all doors.  They can mean escape or death.  Test them with your
  hands before flinging them open.  If they feel warm, fire can be walled
  up just behind them. Leave the door closed and find another escape route.

- Keep all doors and windows closed except for escape purposes.

- Do not waste time collecting possessions after a fire starts.  Arouse all
  the occupants and leave the building.  Your most valuable possession is
  your life.

- If you are trapped inside, stay close to the floor, cover your mouth with
  cloth, and conserve your breath as you crawl to safety.

- Pull an alarm box handle if you pass one on your way out of a building.

- Call the fire department from outside the building.

- After your escape, move to and stay in a prearranged meeting place.

- Never re-enter a burning building.

- Draw a floor plan and plan your escape route.  Have fire drills often.
  Practice your escape.

LOCATING SMOKE ALARMS

1.  As a minimum guide, locate your smoke alarms between any sleeping areas
    and potential sources of fire such as kitchens, garages, or basements.
    In a single story residence with one sleeping area, Install a smoke
    alarm in the hallway outside the bedrooms.  Where sleeping areas are
    separated, you should have at least one smoke alarm outside each sleep-
    ing area.  In multi-level or split-level residences, as a minimum, in-
    stall one smoke alarm outside each sleeping area, in the basement, and
    on each level of the residence.

2.  Install additional smoke alarms inside bedrooms in anticipation of a
    fire starting within these rooms caused by faulty wiring, lamps,
    appliances, smokers, or similar hazards.

3.  For overall best protection, install smoke alarms in every room of your
    house.

4.  Install smoke alarms in hallways at a distance no greater than 13 feet
    from the furthest wall and no greater than 26 feet from the next smoke
    alarm.

5.  Try to locate the smoke alarm in the center of the area as it is
    impossible to predict the source of a fire. If you must place the alarm
    on a wall, always locate the top of the unit no closer than 6 inches
    from the ceiling.

6.  If you have rooms with simple sloped, peaked, or gabled ceilings,
    install smoke alarms on the ceiling so that they are spaced 3 feet
    from the ceiling's highest point.  Dead air space at the peak of the
    ceiling can prevent smoke from reaching the detector in time to provide
    early warning.  If you have complex ceiling configurations, consult a
    fire safety expert for the correct number of alarms and the best
    location for each.

7.  Closed doors and other obstructions interfere with smoke movement to a
    smoke alarm and can prevent early warning detection.  These barriers
    also impede noise travel sufficiently to prevent you from hearing the
    audible alarm signal.  Install sufficient alarm signaling devices to
    ensure that anyone in the house hears the alarm signal.

8.  Your local fire department often has additional safety information.
    Check with them for availability.

    NOTE:  Research indicates that substantial increases in early warning
           time can be obtained with each properly installed additional
           smoke alarm.  To provide the best protection, install alarms in
           every room (except the bathroom.)

LOCATIONS TO AVOID

1.  Do not locate your smoke alarms in turbulent air from fans doors,
    windows, and so on.  The rapid air movement might prevent combustion
    particles from entering the smoke alarm.

2.  Do not locate smoke alarms in high humidity areas such as bathrooms
    and attics, or where temperatures exceed 100 degrees F (39 degrees C.)
    or fall below 40 degrees F. (14 degrees C.) Extreme conditions such
    these can trigger false alarms.

3.  Do not locate your smoke alarms at the peak of a slopped peaked, or
    gabled ceiling.  The still air in this area might prevent smoke from
    reaching the smoke alarm in time to provide you with early warning.

4.  Locate smoke alarms on ceilings more than 6 inches from a wall.  Locate
    the alarm, ideally, in the center of the ceiling.

5.  Do not locate smoke alarms in insect infested areas.  Flying, crawling
    insects can interfere with the sensing chamber and trigger a false
    alarm.

6.  Do not locate smoke alarms in poorly ventilated kitchens or garages.
    Combustion products from cooking or car exhaust can trigger nuisance
    alarms.


(LB/EB 08/01/96)