I would estimate that about half of the houses I inspect have outdated smoke/CO alarms, non working alarms or none at all. That’s not good. In my previous postcard, I talked about the importance of heating system safety. Gas appliances can produce CO in a lot of different ways. Smoke alarms are paramount. Cracked heat exchangers, negative flue slopes, blocked exhausts etc. It’s important to have an adequate number of working alarms in your home. Some are wiredthrough your electrical system with battery back up while others are battery operated or plug in. Some are Photoelectric which are better at detecting smoldering fires and some are Ionizing which are better for fast moving fires. Ionizing alarms by themselves don’t offer adequate protection. I would recommend a Photoelectric or combo smoke alarm as they offer better protection from both types of fires. Important anytime of year but especially during heating season. Stay safe out there. Thanks for stopping by. See you in 2 weeks for another installment of Postcards from the Field!
