Firex Model C - Manual (Page 2)

• Smoke alarms cannot give you an early warning of fire or smoke
unless you install, use and maintain them by following these
instructions.
• You must hear the alarm’s warning sound and quickly respond to it to
reduce the risk of damage, injury or death that may result from a fire.
• Your smoke alarm is packaged with the battery disconnected.
Connect it to the battery leads before mounting the smoke alarm.
• A smoke alarm will not work without a good battery installed correctly.
The smoke alarm must be tested when a new battery is installed and
every week after that.
• A smoke alarm that beeps about once per minute means the battery
is weak, and you need a new battery.
• A smoke alarm should never be used, in any case, for more than
10 years.
WHAT SMOKE ALARMS CAN DO
Smoke alarms can only HELP protect your home and family against loss
from a fire. The best protection is obtained by installing smoke alarms in
each room, and each other area of the home, making sure the people in
the home will be able to hear and respond to the alarm sound.
Your smoke alarm meets or exceeds the requirements for audibility, or
loudness, set by Underwriters’ Laboratories, Inc.
!WARNING: S MOKE ALARMS MAY GIVE YOU A WARNING OF FIRE AND SMOKE , BUT ONLY
IF YOU INSTALL , USE AND MAINTAIN THEM IN ACCORDANCE WITH THESE INSTRUCTIONS .
WHAT SMOKE ALARMS WILL NOT DO
A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT POWER. Your smoke alarm
needs a good battery that is installed correctly to work. A smoke alarm will
not work if its battery is missing, dead or put in wrong.
A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT SENSE A FIRE WHEN THE SMOKE CANNOT
REACH THE ALARM. If a fire starts in a chimney, wall, roof, the other side
of a closed door, or any other isolated area, the smoke alarm may not
sense the smoke and will not give a warning. If you do not have an alarm
in the bedroom, and sleep with the door closed, a fire inside the bedroom
may not sound the alarm located in another room. Therefore, a smoke
alarm must be placed both inside and outside all bedrooms. A SMOKE
ALARM WILL NOT PROMPTLY SENSE A FIRE EXCEPT IN THE AREA OR
ROOM IN WHICH THE SMOKE ALARM IS LOCATED.
FOR EXAMPLE:
A. A SMOKE ALARM MAY NOT SENSE A FIRE ON ANOTHER LEVEL OF A
RESIDENCE OR BUILDING. A second-floor smoke alarm may not detect
a fire on the first floor or in the basement of a building. Therefore, smoke
alarms must be installed on every floor or level of your home or building.
B. IF THE SMOKE ALARM IS LOCATED ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL THAN
THE BEDROOMS, OR IN AN ISOLATED AREA OF THE HOUSE OR
RESIDENCE, IT IS LESS LIKELY TO WAKE UP PEOPLE SLEEPING IN
THE BEDROOMS.
ALL TYPES OF SMOKE ALARMS HAVE LIMITATIONS. NO TYPE OF SMOKE ALARM
CAN SENSE EVERY KIND OF FIRE OR SMOKE EVERY TIME.
Ionization smoke alarms are your best overall choice for reliability and fast
response time (NFP Research Foundation and U.S. Fire Administration
Data) since they quickly sense small “invisible” smoke particles and also
sense large “visible” smoke particles. Note, photoelectric smoke alarms
may respond faster in certain types of fires, for example slow smoldering
fires with large “visible” smoke particles. For additional protection the
NFPA recommends the use of multiple smoke alarms and heat detectors.
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