Skip to main content

Fire safety

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm tips

A person pushes the test button on a smoke alarm.

Smoke alarms: Why do they matter?

Fire doubles in size every minute. Smoke alarms give you the critical seconds you need if a fire starts in your home. 

  • Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
  • Interconnect your home’s smoke alarms. This way, when one sounds, they all sound. 
  • Teach children the sound of the smoke alarm and to exit the home/building when it sounds. 
  • Place alarms on the ceiling. If alarms are placed on the wall they must be no more than 12 inches below the ceiling. 
    • Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations that are included in your alarm's instructions. 
  • Make sure you test your smoke alarms every month by pressing the test button. 
    • Even hard-wired alarms need fresh batteries. 
  • Change your smoke alarm batteries at least once a year. Make a habit of replacing batters each fall and spring during Daylight Saving Time.

Did you know?

  • Smoke alarms should be tested monthly. 
  • Change smoke alarm batteries at least once a year — unless yours have 10-year, sealed lithium batteries.
  • Replace all smoke alarms every 10 years. See manufacturer’s date on back of smoke alarm. 
  • Working smoke alarms cut in half your risk of dying in a residential fire. 

Carbon monoxide (CO) alarms: Why do they matter?

Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas so the only way to detect it is with a CO alarm. 

  • Install CO alarms within 10 feet of each sleeping room or inside each sleeping room.
    • Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations that are included in your alarm's instructions. 
  • Test CO alarms monthly. Replace alarms every five to seven years.
  • Change your CO alarm batteries at least once a year. Make a habit of replacing batters each fall and spring during Daylight Saving Time.
    • Even hard-wired alarms need fresh batteries. 
  • If a CO alarm sounds, evacuate immediately and call 911 from outside your home. 
  • Clear snow and debris from furnace, dryer, fireplace, or oven vents around your home to prevent a CO buildup.  

Did you know?

  • CO is an odorless, tasteless, and invisible gas.
  • Signs of CO poisoning include headache, nausea, fatigue, vomiting, and disorientation. 
  • Cooking and heating units that burn fuel and are not properly ventilated or that malfunction can be a source of CO  in the home.

Alarms for the deaf and hard of hearing