Why home smoke alarms are so important.
One of the most important gadgets you should have in your home is a first alert smoke alarm. They are simple to fit and not expensive. You don't have to be an expert to fit one.
The last thing you want in your home is a house fire. They can be very nasty, particularly, if you happen to be sleeping at the time. When asleep you are often not aware of events occurring in your surroundings. Fires in the home spread fast, often within just minutes.
The real problem is smoke which will cause persons in the property to become unconscious without even being aware of it. When you're unconscious you're unable to respond or take any necessary defensive steps to help save yourself, or others, from harm.
In addition to causing a loss of consciousness smoke makes it very difficult to see and also makes breathing very difficult. When there is a lot of smoke many people choke.
The choking leads to further disorientation and a harmful clogging of your lungs. Often people collapse before they can remove themselves from the hazard.
More than that, when a fire is underway, a considerable amount of heat is generated. The problem with extreme heat is it causes a fire in one room to transmit itself to an adjoining room without any doors being open.
The sheer heat generated causes objects on adjoining rooms to start to smoulder and then burst into flames of their own accord. Many items in the home start to melt which means vacating the building can become very hazardous indeed.
So, what causes a fire in the home in the first place? Well, the most common cause is from a cigarette which has either been tossed carelessly within the premises or has not been extinguished properly.
Often, a fire from a cigarette arises when an occupant falls asleep as he is smoking and a lit cigarette falls to the ground, onto a carpet or the like. It doesn't take long before a raging fire results.
The next most common cause is a chip pan catching light in the Kitchen. Always keep a fire blanket close by. And the next most common cause is due to faulty electrics. Never install electrics yourself. Use a trained professional.
And have your electrics renewed once every 15 or 20 years as faults can often be caused by mice eating through cables over time.
One of the most practical, and easiest, alarm types to install is a Firex alarm. Although Firex alarms now belong to the Kidde range, Kidde have improved what was already a well thought out concept.
One of the great features of a Firex alarm is the battery back-up system in-built. Although these alarms are wired into the mains supply, there is a battery back-up which kicks in, in the event there is a failure in the mains supply.
Thunder and lightning are common reasons for mains failures and also a cause of fires starting in the first place. In addition, there are failures in mains supply for many different reasons. When the mains fail, you have no alarm, which defeats the object.
With the Firex alarm however the battery back-up kicks in, take over, and ensures continuity of protection.
This feature does the job of two functions. The other common method of operating a portable smoke alarm is battery operated 100% without any reliance on the mains.
The difficulty here is that batteries run low and, although there is a beeping or chirping sound which usually emits itself from smoke alarms with low batteries, this assumes the low battery sound feature is in itself working properly.
It also means that batteries have to be replaced fairly regularly. How often they are changed depends on the quality and power of the battery but changing batteries adds an additional chore which isn't necessary with mains only powered alarms.
Firex alarms serve as a half way house in that they are mains operated for the most part but have a battery system for additional surety in the background. As these batteries are not in operation all of the time, so the chore of replacing them is less also.
Another great feature of Firex alarms is the ease with which they are installed. They come with a special 360 degree bracket which makes them easy to install, at any angle, enabling them to fit snug into even the most awkward of places.
Finally, Firex alarms have a simple slide in, slide out, mechanism for the battery housing. This is very convenient when batteries do need to be changed as you don't have to 'break into' the alarm to access the batteries. This is a great safety feature which also ensures that the integrity of the alarm remains intact.
Firex alarms are not expensive so the excuse for having no smoke alarm fitted at all is removed.
