The importance

Fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and carbon monoxide detectors are all very important. Small fires can be controlled with fire extinguishers that a person can have at home. This can help to stop a fire from getting out of control. Most of the time, it is actually the smoke from a fire that ends up killing people in a burning house. Smoke detectors are the best way for a person to protect themselves and their loved ones from breathing in too much smoke in case there is a fire. And carbon monoxide detectors can save lives since carbon monoxide does not have an odor and can quickly kill people.

Where

The safest thing for a family is for them to have a fire extinguisher in their garage, kitchen, and in their workshop. These are the places in a home that are most likely to have a fire start in them. Having a fire extinguisher in each bedroom is also a good idea. And where ever a family puts their fire extinguishers, they need to be accessible. It will do the family no good if the fire extinguisher is behind things or inside a cabinet, etc., and the family cannot find them if there is a fire.

A fire extinguisher should be installed near an exit. If a person is not able to control a fire with the extinguisher, they need an escape route. Placing a fire extinguisher by an exit can give a person a way to leave the room.

Smoke detectors should be placed in each bedroom. They should be close to the door to the bedroom since that is most likely the place where the smoke would enter the bedroom. Smoke detectors can be installed on the ceiling or on the wall. If the smoke detector is installed on the ceiling they should be at least 12 inches below the ceiling.

A home should have at least one carbon monoxide detector on each level of their home. As long as the carbon monoxide detector is not too close to gas appliances or a fireplace it should be fine. Putting a carbon monoxide detector near the bedroom areas of the home on each level is probably the best idea.

How to

Fire extinguishers come with instructions to install them if a person would like to be able to hang their fire extinguisher. It does not take long to install a fire extinguisher and will likely only take a few screws or a nail or two.

Just about all smoke detectors will come with instructions about their installation to the ceiling or to the wall. Usually installing a smoke detector will just involve one or two screws, or if they are on a wall they can hang on a nail.

Many carbon monoxide detectors use a battery and an outlet source. These carbon monoxide detectors should be plugged into an outlet near a sleeping area on each level of a home.

Maintenance

It is not hard to take care of fire extinguishers and smoke and carbon detectors. The main thing that needs to be done to take care of fire extinguishers is to have them inspected every other year. A person's local fire department can tell them where to get their fire extinguished inspected.

Smoke detectors needs to be tested each month to make sure that they still work and that the batteries are charged. When a family changes their clocks back or forward during Daylight Savings time they should also change the batteries in their smoke detectors. This will ensure that the batteries get changed at least every six months. It is better for a family to change a batter that is not completely used up than have a smoke detector that does not work during a house fire. If the smoke detector makes a beeping sound when there is not a fire it is likely a warning that the battery is low. If this is the case, a person should change the battery in the smoke detector right away.

Smoke detectors also need to be kept clean. The main reason why a smoke detector would be dirty would probably just be dust. Vacuuming or dusting them twice a month or so should be sufficient for most smoke detectors. But if the smoke detector is looking dusty it would be a good idea for the person to clean it right away.

Just as with smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors also need to be kept dust free. If it takes batteries, they should be changed as often as a person changes the batteries in their smoke detector, or more often as necessary. It can be a really good idea to change all of the batteries at the same time to ensure that all of the detectors have working batteries.