Fire Fighters Help Residents Place Smoke Detectors
FEATURES
Residents of Fairfax County, Va., can add smoke detector placement to the list of services provided by the fire department.
Upon request from a resident, the nearest fire station will send fire fighters to a home and advise where the smoke detectors should be placed for the best protection. The requests come from homeowners as well as from residents of rental garden apartments and townhouses.
Fire department participation is particularly effective in smoke detector placement for the following reasons:
- It is important that smoke detectors be placed in the best location.
- It gives fire fighters an opportunity to look at the layout of a home for rescue and fire fighting.
- It gives the fire department an excellent opportunity to meet people and make them aware of the department’s interest in their welfare.
The Fairfax County Fire Department requires at least two men to go to any home. The training for this program is given to all personnel at the county training facility.
Advice requested
The smoke detector placement program drew a request by the owner of two very large homes. After talking to the owner on the phone and getting a brief description of the homes, we asked if the entire shift could visit the houses because of the potential fire hazard involved. The owner agreed and the visit was made last November. Taking the entire shift and apparatus was to our advantage because we were able to see what problems we might have in apparatus maneuverability in the long, narrow driveway.
After going through the two homes, it became apparent to our shift that because of the size of the homes, a smoke detector sounding on a lower level might not be heard on the bedroom level. House A had 5000 square feet of living space and house B had 6000 square feet, not including basement areas.
We recommended to the homeowner a system of smoke and heat detectors that tied in with a central alarm company.
The basis for our recommendation was due to: (1) size of the home, (2) remote area—the homes were on 80 acres with no other dwellings in sight, (3) distance from the fire department—at least five minutes, (4) distance from any water supply—nearest hydrant was 1800 feet away and (5) large amount of investment in the two homes—replacement value was $1 million.
This information was compiled by shift personnel on the first inspection. The men used a measuring wheel to determine the hydrant distance.
Insurance rate reduction
The owner asked us to give him the names of companies that installed fire detector systems. We advised him that because of possible conflict of interest, we could not name any companies, but that he could find many responsible companies listed in the phone book. We also recommended that he consult with his insurance company for a possible reduction in rates due to the added home protection.
We felt our followup was important because our knowledge and experience proved helpful to the citizen and also reminded him of our continued interest in making his home safe from fire. In closing our followup conversation, we asked the homeowner if we could inspect the smoke detector system after it had been installed.
Last February, we went to see the completed smoke detector system in both homes. For the homeowner, the reduced fire insurance rates just about paid for the monthly fee to monitor the alarm system. This homeowner was very appreciative of our help and said that without our visit to show the smoke detector placement, he would not have the fire protection and peace of mind that he now has for his family’s safety.