Protecting Your Family From Fire; What To Do In Case Of Fire - First Alert SA4121C User Manual

PROTECTING YOUR FAMILY FROM FIRE

Putting up smoke alarms is one step in protecting your family from fires. You must also reduce the chance a fire will start
in your home, and have a plan for escaping safely if one does. To have a good fire safety program, you must:
Develop a family escape plan and practice it with everyone in your family, including small children. 1) Draw a floor plan of
your home and identify at least two exits from each room and one way to get out of each bedroom without opening the
door; 2) Decide on a meeting place a safe distance from home, and make sure everyone knows to wait there; 3) Know
where to go to call the Fire Department from outside the home; 4) Make sure everyone—including all children—know
what the alarm signal means and how to react to it. Teach them they must be prepared to leave the home by themselves
if needed; 5) Hold fire drills every 6 months and practice how to escape safely. Show children how to check if doors are
hot before opening them. Show them how to use an alternate exit if a door is hot and shouldn't be opened. Teach them
to stay close to the floor and crawl if necessary.
Install at least one smoke alarm on every level of your home, in every bedroom, and in every sleeping area.
Keep alarms clean, and test them weekly. Replace smoke alarms immediately if they are not working properly. Smoke
alarms that do not work cannot alert you to a fire.
Keep at least one working fire extinguisher on every floor, and an additional one in the kitchen. Have fire escape ladders
or other reliable means of escape from an upper floor in case stairs are blocked.
Follow safety rules, and prevent hazardous situations: 1) Use smoking materials properly. Never smoke in bed.
2) Keep matches or lighters away from children; 3) Store flammable materials in proper containers; 4) Keep electrical
appliances in good condition and don't overload electrical circuits; 5) Keep stoves, barbecue grills, fireplaces and
chimneys grease- and debris-free; 6) Never leave anything cooking on the stove unattended; 7) Keep portable heaters and
open flames, like candles, away from flammable materials; 8) Don't let rubbish accumulate.

WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF FIRE

• Don't panic; stay calm. Follow your family escape plan. Your safe escape may depend on thinking clearly
and remembering what you have practiced.
• Get out of the house as quickly as possible. Don't stop to get dressed or collect anything.
• Feel doors with the back of your hand before opening them to see if they are hot. If a door is cool,
open it slowly. Don't open a hot door—use an alternate escape route.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a cloth (preferably wet). Take short, shallow breaths.
• Keep doors and windows closed, unless you need to escape through them.
• Meet at your planned meeting place outside your home, and do a head count to make sure everybody got
out safely.
• Call the Fire Department as soon as possible from outside. Give your address, then your name.
• Never go back inside a burning building for any reason.
Contact your Fire Department for ideas on making your home safer and on creating your own family escape plan.
IMPORTANT! READ BEFORE INSTALLING SMOKE ALARM
Read "Where To Install Smoke Alarms" and "Where Not To Install Smoke Alarms" before beginning. This unit monitors
the air, and when smoke reaches its sensing chamber, it alarms. It can give you more time to escape before fire spreads.
This unit can ONLY give an early warning of developing fires if it is installed, maintained and located where smoke can
reach it, and where all residents can hear it, as described in this manual. This unit will not sense gas, heat, or flame. It
cannot prevent or extinguish fires.
DANGER!
• ELECTRICAL SHOCK HAZARD. Turn off power to the area where you will install this unit at the
circuit breaker or fuse box before beginning installation. Failure to turn off the power before
installation may result in serious electrical shock, injury or death.
WARNING!
• This unit will not alert hearing impaired residents. It is recommended that you install special
units which use devices like flashing strobe lights to alert hearing impaired residents.
• Installation of this unit must conform to the electrical codes in your area; Article 760 of the
National Electrical Code (NFPA 70), NFPA 72, 101; SBC (SBCCI); UBC (ICBO); NBC (BOCA);
OTFDC (CABO), and any other local or building codes that may apply. Wiring and installation
must be performed by a licensed electrician. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in
injury or property damage.
• This unit must be powered by a 24-hour, 120VAC 60Hz circuit. Be sure the circuit cannot be
turned off by a switch, dimmer, or ground fault circuit interrupter. Failure to connect this unit
to a 24-hour circuit may prevent it from providing constant protection.
• This alarm must have AC or battery power to operate. If the AC power fails, battery back-up
will allow the alarm to sound for at least 4 minutes (if the battery is weak, protection should
last for up to 7 days.) If AC power fails and the battery is dead or missing, the alarm cannot
operate.
• It is possible an electrical fire could occur on the circuit powering this unit. If this happened,
the power to the unit could be cut off and it may fail to alarm. Some safety experts recom-
mend wiring warning devices like this unit on separate circuits from other appliances, since
these circuits are not as likely to be overloaded. Other safety experts recommend wiring these
units on the same circuits as appliances so it is more readily apparent if the circuit fails.
Whichever circuit you choose, it is recommended you also install battery powered units as
back-ups in case of fire on the circuit powering the AC powered units.
• Never disconnect the power from an AC powered unit to stop an unwanted alarm. Doing so
will disable the unit and remove your protection. In the case of a true unwanted alarm open a
window or fan the smoke away from the unit. The alarm will reset automatically when it
returns to normal operation. Never remove the batteries from a battery operated unit to stop
an unwanted alarm (caused by cooking smoke, etc.). Instead open a window or fan the smoke
away from the unit. The alarm will reset automatically.
CAUTION!
• Connect this unit ONLY to other compatible units. See "How To Install This Smoke Alarm" for
details. Do not connect it to any other type of alarm or auxiliary device. Connecting anything
else to this unit may damage it or prevent it from operating properly.
Understanding The Indicator Lights and Alarm Horn Patterns
Normal Operation Test Condition
AC Constant Green LED Constant Green LED
Flashing Red LED Rapidly Flashing Red LED
Power
No Audible Alarm Audible Alarm
DC Green LED Off Green LED Off
Power Flashing Red LED Rapidly Flashing LED
No Audible Alarm Audible Alarm
NOTE: When power is applied, unit(s) may alarm momentarily.
*When any smoke alarm in an interconnected series triggers an alarm, its red LED will flash rapidly. The red LEDs
will remain OFF on any remaining alarms in the series. This feature helps responders identify which unit(s)
triggered the alarm.
3
Alarm Condition* (Initiating
Unit)
Constant Green LED
Rapidly Flashing Red LED
Audible Alarm
Green LED Off
Rapidly Flashing LED
Audible Alarm