Guidelines for Installation Smoke Detectors

Guidelines for Locating Smoke Detectors

Experience has shown that all hostile fires in family living units generate smoke to a greater or lesser extent. Experiments using typical fires in family living units indicate that detectable quantities of smoke precede detectable levels of heat in most cases. For these reasons, NFPA standard 72 requires smoke detectors to be installed outside of each sleeping area and on each additional?story of the family unit.

The following information is for general guidance only and it is recommended that NFPA standard 72 be consulted and that the smoke detector manufacturer’s literature be used for detailed?installation instructions.

It is recommended that additional smoke detectors beyond those required be installed for increased protection. The added areas include: basement, bedrooms, dining rooms, furnace room, utility?room and hallways not protected by the required detectors.

1: A smoke detector should be located between the sleeping area and the rest of the family unit.

2: In the family living units with more than one sleeping area, a smoke detector should be located to protect each sleeping area.

3: A smoke detector should be located on each story of the living unit.

4: Smoke Detector mounting – “Dead” Air Space. The smoke from a fire generally rises to the ceiling, spreads out across the ceiling surface and begins to bank down from the?ceiling. The corner where the ceiling and wall meet is an air space into which the smoke may have difficulty penetrating. In most fires, this “dead” air space measures about 4 in. (0.1m) along the ceiling from the corner and about 4 in. (0.1m) down?the wall as shown in Figure 4. Detectors should not be placed in the dead” air space.