Limitations Of Smoke Alarms - Kidde P4010ACSAQ-WF User Manual

6. Limitations of Smoke Alarms

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• 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. A smoke alarm may not be effective in some situations, such as during incendiary fires where the fire grows so
rapidly that an occupant's egress is blocked even with properly located smoke alarms, or when victims are intimate
with the fire (for example, when a person's clothes catch fire while cooking), 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, additional strategies such as protection-in-place or assisted escape or rescue are necessary. *
• Leading authorities recommend that both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms be installed to help insure max-
imum detection of the various types of fires that can occur within the home. Ionization sensing alarms may detect
invisible fire particles (associated with fast flaming fires) sooner than photoelectric alarms. Photoelectric sensing
alarms may detect visible fire particles (associated with slow smoldering fires) sooner than ionization alarms.
• A battery powered alarm must have a battery of the specified type, in good condition and installed properly (this
model has a sealed backup battery).
• Smoke alarms must be tested regularly to make sure the battery and the alarm circuits are in good operating condition.
• Smoke alarms cannot provide an alarm if smoke does not reach the alarm. Therefore, smoke alarms may not sense
fires starting in chimneys, within walls, on roofs, on the other side of a closed door or on a different floor.
• If the alarm is located outside the bedroom or on a different floor, it may not wake up a sound sleeper.
• The use of alcohol or drugs may also impair one's ability to hear the smoke alarm. For optimal detection, a smoke
alarm should be installed in each sleeping area on every level of a home.
• There are situations where a smoke alarm may not be effective to protect against fire as stated in the NFPA Standard 72.
For instance:
a) smoking in bed
b) leaving children home alone
c) cleaning with flammable liquids, such as gasoline
This alarm is not intended to alert hearing impaired individuals.
* Reference National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standard 72
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