Limitations Of Smoke Alarms - Kidde P9040 User Manual

WARNING!! USe ONlY tHe BAtteRIeS SPeCIFIed. USe
!
OF dIFFeReNt BAtteRIeS mAY HAVe A detRImeNtAl
eFFeCt ON tHe SmOke AlARm.
CleANING YOUR AlARm
YOUR AlARm SHOUld Be CleANed At leASt ONCe A YeAR
To clean your alarm, remove it from the mounting bracket as
outlined in the beginning of this section. You can clean the inte-
rior of your alarm (sensing chamber) by using compressed air or
a vacuum cleaner hose and blowing or vacuuming through the
openings around the perimeter of the alarm. The outside of the
alarm can be wiped with a damp cloth. After cleaning, reinstall
your alarm and test your alarm by using the test button. If clean-
ing does not restore the alarm to normal operation the alarm
should be replaced.

7. LIMITATIONS OF SMOKE ALARMS

WARNING: PleASe ReAd CAReFUllY ANd tHOROUGHlY
!
• NFPA 72 states: Life safety from fire in residential occupancies
is based primarily on early notification to occupants of the need
to escape, followed by the appropriate egress actions by those
occupants. Fire warning systems for dwelling units are capable
of protecting about half of the occupants in potentially fatal
fires. Victims are often intimate with the fire, too old or young,
or physically or mentally impaired such that they cannot escape
even when warned early enough that escape should be possible.
For these people, other strategies such as protection-in-place or
assisted escape or rescue are necessary.
• Smoke alarms are devices that can provide early warning of pos-
sible fires at a reasonable cost; however, alarms have sensing
limitations. Ionization sensing alarms may detect invisible fire
particles (associated with fast flaming fires) sooner than photo-
electric alarms. Photoelectric sensing alarms may detect visible
fire particles (associated with slow smoldering fires) sooner than
ionization alarms. Home fires develop in different ways and are
often unpredictable. For maximum protection, Kidde recom-
mends that both Ionization and Photoelectric alarms be installed.
• A battery powered alarm must have a battery of the specified type,
in good condition and installed properly.