Fire Protection Questions

[gbeichho]

I'm planning to add wired smoke detectors into my cottage (since I'm re-doing a lot of the wiring).

(I'm also putting dry wall in the bedrooms for fire protection)

I have quite a few ceiling fans in the cottage and I can't figure out where to mount the detectors and there is very little documentation available to help me out.

I have a 20' x 12' room with 2 ceiling fans (one on each end of the 20' length). There is a wood stove in one of the corners. I also have a nice pine ceiling in this room.

Should I put one combo CO and smoke detector in this middle of the ceiling? Will it be as effective on the wall (12" down) in the middle?

Along the 20' length there is a kitchen bordering the room with a 10" header (2 x 7' opening).

Should I put a separate detector in the kitchen? Should the kitchen detector be wired to the rest? (I'm worried about the nuisance alarms blowing everyone out of their sleep)

There is a small hallway that leads from the main room toward the bedrooms. Should I put another CO detector in the hall? Are CO detectors best placed high up?

I'm really quite disappointed as I've looked for guidelines but can find very few. They just say, locate them closest to the center of the room. Don't put them near fans. Well guess where the fans are?

I hope someone has answers!

Also, one last thing. I am big on having fire extinguishers in all major areas of the living quarters. Unfortunately, they all say they need to be checked every couple of years (even the ones with dials). This can get very costly. Is there any way around this?

Thanks,

George

[Wgoodrich]

Instructions advise checking extinguishers annually. However many don't. Problem is if one does not work when you really need it you will not think the money savings was worth it.

Smoke detectors per the IRC rules call for a 120 volt powered smoke detector with battery back up built in installed inside each bedroom, in each vicinity of each bedroom area just outside the bedrooms and one on each floor.

Fans are a consideration. Think air flow with smoke. Fans will circulate the air within each room in a billow manner pushing air to floor then to walls then up the walls to ceiling then back to fan if pushing down. If fan is in updraft the air is sucked up from room to ceiling then to walls then down walls to floor then sucked back up to fan.

If you place you detectors minimum of 12" below the ceiling on the wall [away from that corner where the wall meets the ceiling] then either way the fan blows the smoke will pass by the detector on that wall if placed straight off one of the fans.

One place the air can be trapped is exact center along the ceiling and wall halfway between the two fans. Avoid that spot.

Avoid kitchen and wood stove areas by at least 12 feet to limit false alarms. Co detectors will react as well as the smoke detector if close to a wood stove eating air from the room. Stay at least 12 feet away from a wood burner and you should be fine unless a back daft occurs. If this happens clear the smoke drafting up the chimney again then fan the detector to clear it. This may happen when you open the wood stove door to load or check fire.

Kitchen areas should be avoided by at least 12 feet also. Bacon frying in a skillet can and will cause a false alarm if detectors too close to cooking equipment.

Fumes will trip a smoke ionization detector as well as smoke. Watch bathrooms being too close if hair spray is being sprayed.

Just some thoughts

Wg

[gbeichho]

It's interesting how timely my questions were. I'm just posting this so other people know how dangerous fire can be.

Two of my neighbouring cottages just burned down yesterday. Apparently one of the people was cooking on the BBQ and he stepped inside to get something. A gust of wind picked up and blew the food into a pile of leaves and grass which quickly ignited. The fire began to move to the neighbouring cottage and the two men tried to put it out (no fire extinguisher). Suddenly the wind changed direction and blew the fire into the leaves under their cottage. Within 2 minutes the whole cottage was in flames, with the wind blowing the fire over to the other neighbour. The fire followed the dry leaves over to the neighbours cottage and within 5 minutes that cottage was engulfed in flames.

The fire continued to move thanks to the wind and went into the next neighbours yard and the adjoining Hydro cut at which time my sister and boyfriend had gotten our fire extinguishers and started putting it out in the hydro cut. Then the volunteer fire dept arrived and started dousing the area with water to put out the fires. The next neighbour had been up 2 weeks before and had cleaned much of his yard of leaves. Every place he hadn't cleaned is now burnt to a crisp.

There are a few lessons from this sad story...

1) Keep leaves away from your dwelling and never let them get underneith or near your BBQ
2) Always have fire extinguishers handy
3) Be very careful with fire in windy weather
4) Keep your BBQ closed if you step away from it

George