While teaching fire safety classes, I am encountering more and more residents that have installed the combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. For those of you that have these combinations, have you ever wondered how you are supposed to know if it is the smoke part of the alarm going off or the CO?
Neither National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code nor NFPA 720, Standard for the Installation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detection and Warning Equipment has a requirement for a voice announcement when the alarms activate. The important thing to know is that the smoke alarm is equipped with a requirement to “beep” three times with a short pause between each beep and then a slightly longer pause before the next three beeps. A CO alarm is equipped with a requirement to “beep” four times with a short pause between each beep and then a slightly longer pause before the next four beeps.
Illinois Law
Public Act 94-741 mandates that every dwelling unit in Illinois must be equipped with at least one carbon monoxide alarm within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes. A dwelling unit, defined as a room or suite of rooms used for human habitation, would include a single-family residence as well as each living unit of a multiple-family residence and each living unit in a mixed use building.
The law exempts residential units that are in buildings that: (1) do not rely on combustion of fossil fuel for heat, ventilation or hot water; and (2) are not connected in any way to a garage; and (3) are not sufficiently close to any ventilated source of carbon monoxide. Buildings that have electric heat are exempt.
Whichever kind of alarm you have, make sure you are testing them monthly and changing the batteries once a year.
Those little white alarms will save your life! Let’s pay attention to them!
