Secure Zone Safety - Fire Alarms

Fire Alarms

Don't you hate it when you're at work, deep in thought about whatever you're working on and the fire alarms go off? It happens so often that you don't know when there's a real fire!

Avoiding False Alarms

False fire alarms are an annoyance, but they also keep the fire alarm from detecting a real fire. In addition, people tend to tune them out and even ignore them because they happen so much. This can be dangerous, because if there really is a fire, they might not make it out. In addition, if the false fire alarms are the result of an appliance in the breakroom, the appliance that everyone enjoys might be removed. This is more of an annoyance than a safety hazard, however. To avoid false alarms, make sure that nobody smokes inside the building. Most cities have laws against smoking inside an office building anyway. But if someone smokes under a fire alarm, it could set it off. And to stay safe, always check to see if the fire alarms are real or false.

At home, a variety of things can cause false fire alarms:

Again, smoking under a smoke detector
Forgetting to open the damper on the fireplace before lighting the fireplace
Burning food in the kitchen
Shower steam

To avoid a false alarm at home, do the following:

If you notice the kitchen getting smokey from cooking, open windows or turn on fans
Make sure there's plenty of ventilation when you shower
Avoid using spray cans (think hairspray, deodorant, that sort of thing) under a detector

Remember, although false alarms are a bit annoying, you shouldn't ignore them.