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Fire extinguishers are also cheap. About the same price. I mounted one on my wall near the entrance to the kitchen. Every year I visually inspect it to ensure it has a full charge. Get an ABC extinguisher. A is for fire which burns items that leave behind an ash. B is for burning liquids like grease, oil, or gasoline. C is for electrical fires. There is a fourth rating, D, and it's for burning metal. You ain't gonna find a home extinguisher for that kind of fire and trust me, you wouldn't want to even attempt to fight such a fire. We were taught on the ship that if the helicopter rotors caught on fire the only way to put them out was to get the deck car and push it into the ocean. If you don't have a fire extinguisher handy, baking soda will work well for grease fire. That or put the lid on the pot. For electrical fire, if possible, cut off the breaker. Water can be used on A fires but be careful of anything electrical in the area. Many extinguishers are dry chemical powder types. Some forms of this powder can quickly corrode electronic devices so try to use caution near electronics.
Fire extinguishers are also cheap. About the same price. I mounted one on my wall near the entrance to the kitchen. Every year I visually inspect it to ensure it has a full charge. Get an ABC extinguisher. A is for fire which burns items that leave behind an ash. B is for burning liquids like grease, oil, or gasoline. C is for electrical fires. There is a fourth rating, D, and it's for burning metal. You ain't gonna find a home extinguisher for that kind of fire and trust me, you wouldn't want to even attempt to fight such a fire. We were taught on the ship that if the helicopter rotors caught on fire the only way to put them out was to get the deck car and push it into the ocean. If you don't have a fire extinguisher handy, baking soda will work well for grease fire. That or put the lid on the pot. For electrical fire, if possible, cut off the breaker. Water can be used on A fires but be careful of anything electrical in the area. Many extinguishers are dry chemical powder types. Some forms of this powder can quickly corrode electronic devices so try to use caution near electronics.
I agree with the fire extinguishers as well. It's a good idea to have one in the kitchen and in at least the master/main bedroom of the home. They should not be misconstrude to be able to put out a large fire, but it can buy you a little time and help make a safe passage to get out of the house.
One thing most people do not realize about smoke alarms (which is their technical name) is that they have a 10 year service life. After 10 years, the detectors should be replaced.
[ I see these home fires and I think to myself, "bet they had enough money to buy video game systems, video games, stereos, rims, etc but never seem to have enough for a cheap $10 smoke detector.[/quote]
but I bet you did not know there are differnt types of smoke alarm did you??
I am not talking about manufacturer's I am talking about how they sense fire
if it says it has radiation it is an ionization you will only have a photo electric alarm if you made a concious effort to get one and therefore will not it is a photo electric the chairman of the first home fire detection code does not support the use of combination (dual ionization photoelectric alarms)
there are to types Ionization and Photo electric The Photo electric is the one most likely to give you the maximum escape time an ion alarm could sound so late that you could die of carbon monoxide poisoning before an ion sounds they some times activate at an hour or longer
and since fire evacuation specialist are say that you need up to an hour pre-warning of the fire you must be able to run to the exit before smoke comes down to eye-level since you must be out under 2 minutes the whole room will probably ignite in 3 or more minutes once it becomes flaming.
you are not supposed to have smoke detector in your kitchen this is reflected in the fire code and the directions
if it is going of every time you cook there is a high chance you have a smoke alarm known as an ionization sensor there is a high chance these will not activate in a room full of smoke
you should change to a photo electric sensor chief john gerard predicted 50-80% failurate in ionization devices it was later confirmed the failure rate of the ionization alarm in a smoke fille room is greater than 50 %
full scale testing has shown that the ionizaiton type which you most likely have has shown that you can die of carbon monoxide poisoning before the common types sounds at one hour
We went through several boxes of smoke dectectors before we came up with 13 that worked. I think between 1/3 and 1/2 were defective right out of the box.
I dislike hard wired systems. You cannot move them if they false alarm frequently. We had endless trouble with ours and after a few years ended up just removing all of the units and putting up battery powered ones. They make wireless detectors that communicate with each other and all go off together and you can buy 10 year batteries (still need checking at least every year). These work better and can be moved easily asa needed. Also you are not locked into one brand. With our hardwired system, the brand we used first stopped being sold. One of them died and we had to replace the whole system. Everything but the wires.
Speaking of brands, I would not mess with anything but Kidde.
As I have mentioned in other threads. We tested a lot of Carbon monoxide detectors and could not find one that worked. Some or all of them only alarm when C o2 levels are high for a long time. I wanted one that would alarm whenver the levels went way up, but could nto find one that works.
Another options for the kitchen is a heat detector.
You need to test smoke detectors with smoke. Some of them test fine by pushing the button but will not alarm when smoke is blown into them.
I have a friend whose neighbor's house was almost half burned. They had no smoke detectors and a guy was sleeping there. He's in hospital for quite some time.
You need to test smoke detectors with smoke. Some of them test fine by pushing the button but will not alarm when smoke is blown into them.
fully agree. By pressing the "push to test" button, you are making sure the alarm will provide an audible sound. However, it doesnt test the ability for the alarm to "detect" smoke and then properly sound the alarm. I just moved into the house and had a smoke alarm that sounded with the button, but didn't sound when encompasses with smoke.
I'll add my experience: A good smoke and CO detection system on your alarm system will lower your house insurance rates: I have a $250 annual credit for that on my insurance.
Renters - some have no sense. I had a renter who removed the batteries from the smoke detector and pulled the wires out of the hard-wire detector and put it back in place. I discovered this after he left.
Folks, please, get a smoke and CO detector. Give them as presents. And you should invest in a good sized fire extinguisher for your kitchen.
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smoke detector concepts
