Fire poses one of the most dangerous risks to a home’s occupants, so it is vital to ensure that proper safety measures are in place. One of those safety measures is ensuring you have the correct amount of smoke detectors for the size of your home.
How many smoke detectors do you need? As mentioned, this will depend on the size of your home and how many floors it has. As a general rule, you want one smoke detector installed on each functional floor of the house. Don’t forget to include the garage and basement. For extra protection, you may also want to install a smoke detector in each occupied bedroom.
Even if you have the correct amount of smoke detectors in the house, remember that they are only going to save lives if they are working properly. Schedule a set time each month to go around and test each smoke detector. Don’t forget to change the batteries as soon as needed. You also need to guard against temporarily disconnecting a smoke detector (when cooking, for example), as it is all too easy to forget to reconnect it again.
Although a smoke detector will raise the alarm if a fire breaks out in the house, you and your household will still need to know what steps to take to evacuate the home safely. So, making a fire safety plan that everyone in the home is familiar with is essential. A periodic fire drill is another good way to ensure the entire household is prepared for such an emergency.
