Old, functional fire alarms are good, but these new devices could work even better.
A fire in your home is everyone’s nightmare. For most people, it will never happen, but planning for success is the goal.
You can increase your family’s safety significantly by having working fire alarms throughout each room or level of your home, and firefighters are now getting behind new technology: an alarm that can record a loved one’s voice.
A study published in the journal Pediatrics found that these alarms are more successful. They more readily wake children from sleep.
Adults have been found to wake easily at the sound of a fire alarm. Children, however, don’t always respond to an alarm, as they sleep more deeply.
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In the study which involved 176 children, only half of them woke up when a traditional alarm sounded while they slept. In comparison, the voice alarms raised 9 out of 10 children from their deep slumber.
In a home fire, you may have just seconds to get out. Any alarm that successfully alerts occupants to the danger is extremely useful.
Should you get new alarms? If you already have working fire alarms running in your home, fire experts recommend leaving them there. However, if you are in the market to install alarms, experts recommend those that can record a voice telling occupants to wake up and/or exit the building. It could save additional lives.
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Photo credits: Vadim Ratnikov/Shutterstock.com
