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| Traditional smoke alarms have saved countless lives, giving families time to get out of the house in the event of a fire. But the more time you have, the better; now there is a smoke and carbon monoxide detector on the market that can alert your family to fire or CO leaks using wireless technology. |
This new generation of smoke alarms, like these ONELINK alarms from First Alert, are interconnected wirelessly. When one goes off, they all go off. Why does this matter? Here's a demonstration. |
This is a simulted fire in the basement of a 2-story home. Within a short time, the smoke sets off the basement alarm. |
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| It's the middle of the night, however, and the family is sleeping. None of them hear the alarm, two floors below. |
The smoke rolls out of the basement and up the stairwell, finally setting off the alarm on the second floor landing. Not until then, several minutes later, does the family wake up! Those minutes could have been critical to the family's escape. |
So it's pretty clear that an interconnected system is an improvement. Even better, these alarms can be programmed to announce not just the type of emergency (smoke or carbon monoxide), but its location as well. |
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| You can install as many alarms in your house as you like. First, you will have to enable each one to talk to the others, and program a location into each smoke alarm (Kitchen, Bathroom, Master Bedroom, Basement, Garage, etc). |
This is done after inserting the batteries by holding down the "test" button until the recorded voice announces the room where you wish to install the alarm. |
To avoid any confusion, label each unit with a piece of tape. |
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| These smoke alarms attach to the ceiling like any other battery-operated type. Place the mounting ring on the ceiling, and mark the hole locations. |
Then drill holes through the marks you traced. For most ceilings, you'll need to insert plastic anchors to hold the screws. |
Then fasten the screws into the anchors. |
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| Slip on the mounting ring and tighten the screws. |
Finally, connect the alarm to the ring with a slight twist. Remove the tape label, and you're all set. |
Repeat this process in every bedroom and major shared room in the house, then hold down one of the test buttons. As each alarm is activated, you'll hear an announcement in every alarm in the house containing the name of the room you just activated. And you'll rest easy knowing that your family is that much safer from the risk of fire. |
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