Request an Estimate Make a Payment

24/7 Monitoring We never sleep, so you can

/

Fire Alarm Location, Best Place for Installation

The Best Places to Install Fire Alarms in Your Home

Fire alarm location is quite important. Unfortunately, household fires are quite common in the U.S. On average, about 358,000 fires occur in American homes each year. Of these, 50% begin in the kitchen, 7% in the bedroom, 6% are chimney fires, 4% start in the living room, and 3% in the laundry room.

Even more sobering, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 79% of fire deaths and 73% of fire injuries are the result of residential fires.

Given these rather bleak statistics, it only makes good sense to have a complete system of fire and smoke alarms installed in your home to protect your residence, your possessions, and most importantly, your family and loved ones.

Ideally, you should have a system of interconnected fire alarms, so that when a fire starts in one area, alarms are sounded throughout the entire residence, hopefully giving everyone time to evacuate safely.

To be effective, however, it’s essential that your alarms be installed in the right places, and if you’re unsure about locations, we’ll give you our best advice.

Location, Location, Location

Here, in our option, are the five best locations for fire alarms in your home to provide the most effective fire protection for your family.

An Alarm on Every Level

If you have a multi-storied residence, it’s absolutely essential to have a fire alarm on every level, including the basement and attic. That’s a way of increasing the likelihood of early detection and making sure everyone is warned, no matter where the fire may start.

If you have a basement, install the alarm on the ceiling at the foot of the stairway that leads into the basement.

In Every Bedroom

Approximately 50% of all residential fires occur between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM, times when most of us are sleeping. Hence, you should have an alarm in every bedroom, including guest rooms and any other sleeping areas.

Your Hallway

Your hallway leads to your bedrooms and other areas where you tend to congregate, and having alarms in the hallway is an excellent way to ensure that everyone quickly learns of the outbreak of a fire. If your hallway happens to be particularly long, it’s also a good idea to have an alarm installed at each end.

The hallway is also a good place for installation of the control panel for easy access to your residential fire alarm system.

The Kitchen

This is the room in which most household fires start, often caused by faulty wiring and overloaded  circuits. And, of course, the stove is an obvious source of kitchen fires, and speaking of your stove, it’s best to install your kitchen alarm at least 10 feet away from the stove. This placement reduces the likelihood of false alarms while you’re cooking.

The Living Room

This is another area where fires often start, and like the kitchen, the cause can be faulty wiring or overloaded circuits.

A Few Additional Tips

In addition to location, here are a few other NFPA suggestions about fire alarms in your home.

  • If installing your own fire alarms and smoke detectors, make sure they have the label of a recognized testing laboratory.
  • If you have a pitched ceiling, do not install your alarm in the apex of the ceiling but within three feet of the peak.
  • If you’re mounting on the walls, place your alarms no more than 12 inches from the ceiling. Remember, smoke rises.
  • If your alarms use replaceable batteries, replace them immediately after an alarm begins chirping, indicating a low battery level.
  • When replacing batteries, follow the manufacturer’s recommendations on the brand and model. If you use a different kind of battery, the alarm may not work properly.

Residential Security from Alert Protective Services

We hope you find these recommendations helpful. We also hope that if you’re looking for a professional fire alarm installer in Chicago, you’ll contact us at Alert Protective Services for the very best in home security.

For over four decades we’ve protected Chicago area residences with state-of-the-art home alarm systems, monitored 24 hours around the clock, 365 days a year, by our own professional monitoring service center, located right here in Chicago.

With an alarm and security system installed by the professionals at Alert Protective Services, you can use a phone app to monitor your alarm system from anywhere in the world. You’ll be able to respond in seconds to any trouble and cancel false alarms just as quickly.

If you would like to learn more about the home alarm systems offered by Alert Protective Services, contact us today, and one of our security specialists would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Alarm Monitoring for $1 Per Day
We can monitor

almost any existing make
or model for less than $1.00 a day

Guarantee on Quality Alarm Systems
Quality Alarm Systems

Ancillary Products and Services for Your
Home and Business Since 1982