| Updated: 12/03/2009 10:21 am |
Published: 11/11/2009 9:46 pm
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Are you doing everything you can to protect your family from a fire in your home? If you have smoke detectors, that's a good start. But we found out not all smoke detectors are made the same. Having the right one could make a big difference when it comes to getting out in time. FOX23 tested smoke detectors with the help of the Tulsa Fire Department in their new fire safety education trailer where they were able to simulate smoke you would see in a house fire. Even firefighters were surprised at how one of these smoke detectors performed.
There are two types of smoke detectors: ionization and photoelectric.
The Tulsa Fire Department brought us to their fire safety education trailer to test the alarms. The photoelectric alarm is made sense fires with heavy particles of smoke that comes from smoldering fires with little to no flame similar to what you would find in couches or mattresses. Ionization alarms are made to sense finer particles of smoke that you would find in grease fires.
In every test, the photoelectric alarm either did not sound or sounded minutes after the ionization alarm.
Even Tulsa Fire Department Assistant Fire Thompson was surprised to see how the photoelectric alarm performed. He said, "It's amazing that this one didn't go off sooner. I find that interesting, even though it was closer to the smoke than the ionization alarm."
It may be surprising because the photoelectric alarm is more expensive. The photoelectic alarm cost about $18 while the ionization alarm sells for aout $5.
The National Fire Protection Agency recommends using both the ionization and the photoelectric detectors throughout your home. Thompson says it doesn't hurt to have the photoelectic detector for those smoldering mattress and couch fires but he recommends using it in addition to the ionization detectors.
The National Fire Protection Agency says both types of alarms will help warn your family of fire, but it advises to use a dual alarm if you can afford i built with both the ionization and photoelectric detectors.
