Smoke and CO alarm tips

Smoke alarms: Why do they matter?

Fire doubles in size every minute. Smoke alarms give you the critical seconds you need if a fire starts in your home.

Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
Interconnect your home’s smoke alarms. This way, when one sounds, they all sound.
Teach children the sound of the smoke alarm and to exit the home/building when it sounds.
Place alarms on the ceiling. If alarms are placed on the wall they must be no more than 12 inches below the ceiling.
- Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations that are included in your alarm's instructions.
Make sure you test your smoke alarms every month by pressing the test button.
- Even hard-wired alarms need fresh batteries.
Change your smoke alarm batteries at least once a year. Make a habit of replacing batters each fall and spring during Daylight Saving Time.

Smoke alarms should be tested monthly.
Change smoke alarm batteries at least once a year — unless yours have 10-year, sealed lithium batteries.
Replace all smoke alarms every 10 years. See manufacturer’s date on back of smoke alarm.
Working smoke alarms cut in half your risk of dying in a residential fire.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas so the only way to detect it is with a CO alarm.

Install CO alarms within 10 feet of each sleeping room or inside each sleeping room.
- Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations that are included in your alarm's instructions.
Test CO alarms monthly. Replace alarms every five to seven years.
Change your CO alarm batteries at least once a year. Make a habit of replacing batters each fall and spring during Daylight Saving Time.
- Even hard-wired alarms need fresh batteries.
If a CO alarm sounds, evacuate immediately and call 911 from outside your home.
Clear snow and debris from furnace, dryer, fireplace, or oven vents around your home to prevent a CO buildup.

CO is an odorless, tasteless, and invisible gas.
Signs of CO poisoning include headache, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, and disorientation.
Cooking and heating units that burn fuel and are not properly ventilated or that malfunction can be a source of CO in the home.