Most Common Fire Alarm Installation Mistakes

Smoke detectors and fire alarms are the most popular and effective fire safety solutions. They can save lives. However, fatalities often occur due to fire alarm installation mistakes. Proper installation and maintenance are vital for your alarms and detectors to work in an emergency. In this article, we will take a look at some of the common mistakes when putting these fire protection solutions in place and how to avoid them.

1. Placing detectors near doors or ducts

Often improperly installed smoke and heat detectors can annoy the occupants with false alarms. People start to ignore the beeping. As a result, they might choose to ignore the real threat when it happens. Experts recommend picking the spot carefully. Do not install smoke detectors near doors, windows, ducts or vents as drafts may disrupt the regular functioning of alarms.

2. Placing detectors close to kitchens or bathrooms

Although it may seem reasonable to put your alarms near a kitchen or bathroom to protect all the “weak spots”, we urge you to reconsider. Experts say you should place the detectors at least 3 meters away from areas like showers, bathrooms and laundry rooms. The point is that the moisture can cause damage to the alarms over time so that they will fail eventually. When it comes to kitchen appliances such as furnaces or ovens, the detectors should be set at least 6 meters away, as they produce combustion particles.

3. Neglecting other rooms 

​Such areas as basements and corridors are often overlooked. Yet they are just as likely to be at risk of fire. It is necessary to have a fire alarm on every level of the home and in each bedroom. Fire safety consultants advise placing a basement alarm on the ceiling at the bottom of the stairs leading to the next level.

4. Not interconnecting the alarms

To provide your house or office with the best protection, you need to ensure all your alarms can communicate with one another. Thus, they form an integrated system that can warn you of a fire no matter where it is on your property. So, if one sounds, they all sound. Wherever you are in the building, you will have some time to escape. 

5. Installing one type of detectors

There are different types of smoke alarms, and they identify different kinds of fire. For example, photoelectric alarms respond to smouldering fires, while ionization alarms detect actual flames. There is a rich choice of fire alarms on the market. Nonetheless, your best bet would be a dual-sensor alarm that has both ionization and photoelectric capabilities. Otherwise, a combination of these two types of alarms installed in your office or home is also good.

6. Forgetting to maintain or replace the alarm

The first step to ensure the alarm is functioning the right way is its correct placement and installation. Though, many people make the mistake of not maintaining their properly placed devices. More than half of consumers do not check their alarms monthly. You should test the alarms regularly and have their batteries changed every 6 months. Besides, nothing lasts forever. Your alarms need to be replaced every 10 years. If you can’t remember how old it is, replace it. Fire alarm installation is a step in the right direction to keeping your home or company safe.

However, you cannot guarantee fire safety if you make some of these common mistakes: 

• your property has fire detectors installed near kitchen and bathroom areas; 
• there is only one type of fire detector; 
• there are no smoke detectors in the basement, corridors and stairs; 
• the alarms are not interconnected;
• you do not test and replace your alarms on time;

Do not forget to read the instructions before installation and, ideally, have an expert help you.