• Appliances
• Campus and dorm fires
• Candles
• Carbon monoxide
• Children and fire
• Cooking
• Electrical safety
• Emergency preparedness
• Escape planning
• Fire extinguishers
• Fireworks
• Gas, propane, other fuels
• Heating
• High-rise buildings
• Homeland Security
• Home fire sprinklers
• Intentional fires and arson
• Lightning
• Mine fires and explosions
• Natural disasters
• Nightclubs/assembly occupancies
• Nursing homes
• Older adults
• Other occupancies
• People with disabilities
• Seasonal safety
• Smoke alarms
• Smoke alarm safety tips
• Installation and maintenance tips
• Ionization vs. photoelectric
• Reports and statistics
• Children and smoke alarms
• Smoking material-related fires
• Unintentional injuries
• Vehicle fires
• Wildland fires

Smoke alarms

Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of the home.   Interconnect all smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.   Test smoke alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.   See all safety tips   AUDIO Chris Dubay, NFPA Vice President of Codes & Standards, talks about smoke alarms:   What are the different kinds of smoke alarms?   What kind of smoke alarm does NFPA suggest?   The most important message about smoke alarms.

Smoke alarms that are properly installed and maintained play a vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries. Having a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a reported fire in half..

Facts & figures

• A 2008 survey found that 96% of U.S. households had at least one smoke alarm, yet in 2003-2006, no smoke alarms were present or none operated in two out of the five (41%) of the reported home fires.
• Almost two-thirds of reported home fire deaths in 2003-2006 resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
• When smoke alarms fail to operate, it is usually because batteries are missing, disconnected or dead.

Source: NFPA's " Smoke Alarms in U.S. Home Fires", by Marty Ahrens, September 2009.

Also see: Fact sheet on smoke alarm types, nuisance alarms, and more (PDF, 650 KB)
Also see: Fact sheet on smoke alarms in reported U.S. home fires  (PDF, 94 KB)

NFPA does not test, label or approve any products.
Updated: 9/09

In this Section:

Smoke alarm safety tips What you need to know about smoke alarms. Reports and statistics NFPA reports and other research on smoke alarms.

Installation and maintenance tips Where to place your alarms and how to keep them working. Children and smoke alarms Parents should ensure smoke alarms can awaken children.

Ionization vs. photoelectric NFPA recommends using both technologies in the home.