How to Install Smoke Alarms that are Wireless and Interconnected

Every year, there are 400,000 home fires in this country -- 3,000 people die and 14,000 others are injured. Now, smoke alarms have saved countless lives, because they give us additional time to get out in the event there is a fire.

But as good as they are, they've gotten even better. To show you what I mean, I've simulated a fire starting in my basement. Within a short time, the smoke sets off the basement alarm. [ALARM] It's the middle of the night, however, and the family is sleeping.

None of us hear the alarm, two floors below. [ALARM] The smoke rolls out of the basement and up the stairwell, finally setting off the alarm on the second floor landing. [LOUD ALARM] Now it wakes us.

Precious minutes have been lost between the time the fire started in the basement, and the smoke finally reached the alarm on the second floor. Now that's critical time our family could have used to begin its escape.  But that problem has been solved by a new generation of smoke alarms like these from First Alert, that are interconnected, using wireless technology.

When one alarm goes off, usually the one closest to the fire, all the alarms sound. [ALARM AND ANNOUNCEMENT] A voice announces the location of the first alarm and whether there is a smoke or carbon monoxide emergency.

Now, I'm going to be installing six smoke alarms in our house. One in the basement, two on the first floor, and three on the second floor, where the bedrooms are. But before I actually install these, I have to enable each one to talk to the others, and program a location into each smoke alarm.

First, I insert batteries, then set the location by releasing the test button, when I hear the room where I'll be installing the alarm. [ALARM VOICE] To avoid any confusion, I label each unit with a piece of tape. [ALARM VOICE]

These smoke alarms attach like any other battery-operated type. I place the mounting ring on the ceiling, mark the hole locations, drill, insert plastic anchors, install the screws, slip on the mounting ring, tighten the screws, then connect the alarm to the ring, with a slight twist.

I do the same thing in the family room, the master bedroom, our son's room, our daughter's bedroom and finally, the basement.

I've got all six wireless alarms installed. Now the final thing I have to do is conduct a test, which I'll do from down here in the basement. [ALARM AND ALARM VOICE].