Accord Smoke Detector Safety Tips

Not having an Accord smoke alarm installed in your house could be dangerous for many reasons, and it’s better to be safe than sorry. There are many causes of home-fire related deaths including unattended cooking, ignition of upholstered furniture or electrical fires. What tends to happen in the majority of these tragedies is the lack of smoke alarms or smoke alarms that don’t work.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), three out of five home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke detectors or non-functional smoke detectors. People in homes without smoke alarms are more than twice as likely to die as those in homes with working smoke alarms. Sometimes people’s smoke alarms don’t seem to work, but half of the time, it’s because they have smoke detectors that miss a battery or have disconnected batteries. It can be very beneficial to learn how to install and maintain smoke detectors properly.

How do Accord Smoke Detectors Work ?

There are two types of Accord smoke detectors: ionization detectors and photoelectric detectors. If you’re using ionization smoke detectors, when the smoke enters the chamber of the alarm, it disrupts the ionization process and triggers the alarm. You have to be careful with ionization smoke detectors because the nature of some components inside of them require appropriate disposal. It would be best if you never threw an ionic detector directly into the trash. Instead, what you should do is call the manufacturer of the smoke alarm for proper disposal instructions.

The way a photoelectric smoke detector works is quite different but more straightforward than the ionic detector. When smoke enters the chamber, components within the device send an electric current, triggering the alarm. If you want the most sensitive option between the two, you should get an ionic alarm. Even something as mundane as steam from boiling water can trigger an ionic smoke alarm. An ionic detector can also detect fast-spreading low smoke fires more efficiently.

How to Choose the Right Accord Smoke Detector

If a member of your family can’t hear well, you should consider buying a smoke detector that produces flashing lights or vibrations and loud noise to signal an emergency.

What is the Right Place to Install a Smoke Alarm

Accord Smoke Detector Install

Everyone in your house should notice the sound of your smoke alarm and hear it in their bedrooms. It is essential because most deaths caused by fire occur between 11 pm and 7 am. The place you choose to install your home detectors is also significant. Here are some installation guidelines:

• Install wall-mounted smoke alarms 4 to 12 inches from the ceiling, and ceiling-mounted models at least 4 inches from the nearest wall.
• Place smoke alarms outside each sleeping area, inside any bedroom where the door is typically shut (recommended) and on every story of the house, like in the basement.
• For the best protection, smoke alarms should be interconnected so that they all sound if one sounds. Manufacturers are now producing battery-operated alarms that are interconnected by wireless technology.
• Combination smoke alarms that include both ionization and photoelectric alarms offer the most comprehensive protection. An ionization alarm is more responsive to flames, while a photoelectric alarm is more responsive to a smoldering fire.
• Hardwired smoke alarms with battery backups are considered to be more reliable than those operated solely by batteries.
• Alarms installed between 10-20 feet of a cooking appliance must have a hush feature to temporarily reduce the alarm sensitivity or must be a photoelectric alarm.
• Choose alarms that bear the label of a nationally-recognized testing laboratory.

How to properly maintain Accord smoke alarms

If you want your smoke alarms to keep working correctly, you need to give them proper maintenance. These following tips will help ensure your smoke alarms remain in correct working order:

• -Clean smoke alarms regularly by vacuuming them with a brush attachment.
• -Install new batteries immediately when the low-battery warning alarm sounds, or at least once a year.
• -Test units monthly.
• -Replace smoke alarms every ten years to achieve optimum performance.
• -It would be best if you never painted over a smoke alarm.

Having smoke alarms installed in your house and making sure they are working is very important for the safety of everyone that lives in your home. No matter the cause of the fire or its location, properly functioning smoke alarms are there to help alert everyone to the presence of fire in time to evacuate safely.

Here are Some Smoke Alarm Facts and Stats

• In 2009-2013, smoke alarms sounded in more than half (53%) of the home fires reported to U.S. fire departments.
• The death rate per 100 reported home fires was more than twice as high in homes that did not have any working smoke alarms compared to the rate in homes with working smoke alarms (1.18 deaths vs. 0.53 deaths per 100 fires).
• Dead batteries caused one-quarter (24%) of the smoke alarm failures.
• Three of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms (38%) or no working smoke alarms (21%).
• In fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate, almost half (46%) of the smoke alarms had missing or disconnected batteries.

What to Do if you Hear the Accord Smoke Alarm

1. Have an escape plan ready. Discuss and practice your escape plans. Know two exits from any room in the house.
2. Always feel the door to see if it is hot before opening it to escape. If the doorknob or door is hot, do not use that exit. Use your alternate exit to escape.
3. Crawl on the floor. Smoke from a fire rises, and so does the temperature. If you crawl on the floor, there will be less smoke, and the heat from the fire will be less severe.
4. Meet at a prearranged spot outside the home. If you clearly show where everyone is supposed to meet outside the house when there is a fire, it will be easier to know who is safe.
5. Call the fire department from a neighbor’s home. Be prepared to give your full name and address to the operator at the other end of the line. Stay on the line until the operator has all of the information needed.
6. Never go inside a burning building. Never return inside the house for any reason. The firefighters will be there soon.

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