Smoke Alarms

Landlords

It is the responsibility of landlords to ensure their rental properties comply with the law. We strongly encourage landlords to use our smoke alarm checklists to keep a record of all maintenance work done on smoke alarms.

Tenants

If you are a tenant of a rental property and do not have the required number of smoke alarms, contact your landlord immediately. It is against the law for tenants to remove the batteries or tamper with the alarm in any way.

When installing smoke alarms, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for information about correct placement. Test your smoke alarms every month using the test button. Replace smoke alarm batteries at least once a year, and whenever the low-battery warning chirps. Smoke alarms don't last forever. Replace smoke alarms with new ones if they are more than ten years old. Steam from the shower or cooking in the oven, stove or toaster can cause smoke alarms to activate. Do not remove the battery. Instead, try moving the alarm to a different location, or purchase a smoke alarm with a hush feature that will temporarily silence the alarm.

Homeowners

It is the responsibility of homeowners to install and maintain smoke alarms on every storey of their home and outside sleeping areas.

Choosing the Correct Alarm

Be sure the smoke alarms you buy carry the label of an independent testing laboratory such as ULC or CSA.

Several types of alarms are available. Some run on batteries, others on household electric current. Some detect smoke using an "ionization" sensor, others use a "photoelectric" detection system. All approved smoke alarms, regardless of the type, will offer adequate protection provided they are installed and maintained properly.

A photoelectric alarm is recommended for areas that are prone to nuisance alarms such as kitchens and outside bathrooms.

How Many Should You Buy?

Every home should have a smoke alarm outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement. On floors without bedrooms, alarms should be installed in or near living areas, such as dens, living rooms, or family rooms.

Be sure everyone sleeping in your home can hear your smoke alarms. If any residents are hearing-impaired or sleep with bedroom door closed, install additional alarms inside sleeping areas as well. There are special smoke alarms for the hearing impaired that flash a light in addition to sounding an audible alarm.

For extra protection, fire departments suggest installing alarms in dining rooms, furnace rooms, utility rooms and hallways. Smoke alarms are not recommended for kitchens, bathrooms or garages - where cooking fumes, steam or exhaust fumes could set off nuisance alarms.

Installing Alarms

For the reason that smoke rises, mount alarms high on a wall or on the ceiling, depending on the manufacturer’s instructions.

In stairways with no doors at the top or bottom, position smoke alarms anywhere in the path of smoke moving up the stairs. But always position smoke alarms at the bottom of closed stairways, such as those leading to the basement, because dead air trapped near the door at the top of a stairway could prevent smoke from reaching an alarm located at the top.

Do not install a smoke alarm too close to a window, door, or forced-air register where drafts could interfere with the alarm's operation. For the best results, follow the printed instructions that come with the smoke alarm.

Most battery-powered smoke alarms and alarms that plug into wall outlets can be installed using only a drill and a screwdriver by following the manufacturer's instructions. Plug-in alarms must have restraining devices so they cannot be unplugged by accident. Alarms can also be hard-wired into a building's electrical system. Hard-wired alarms should be installed by a qualified electrician. Never connect a smoke alarm to a circuit that can be turned off by a wall switch.

Replacing Alarms

Smoke alarms purchased over the last few years will have an expiry date stamped into the back of the alarm. Manufacturers recommend replacing any smoke alarm that is over 10 years old. While the smoke alarm may still look okay and may test when the button is pressed, they can still deteriorate over time. The interior workings that allow the alarm to "smell" the smoke may become coated with grease, dust, cobwebs and dirt and may reduce its ability to detect smoke.

How to Obtain a Smoke Alarm

The Ontario Fire Code mandates that there must be a working smoke alarm on each storey of the home. It is the expectation as the property owner that you install smoke alarms as required. If you live in a rental unit, ask the property owner to install one or more working smoke alarms. Property owners are obligated by law to ensure there is at least one working smoke alarm in every rental unit. If the owner does not respond or comply, contact the Fire Prevention Division and we will contact the property owner to make certain the rental unit is in compliance with the law.

Only a functioning smoke alarm can protect you. This is why you should never disable an alarm. This includes borrowing its battery for another use or ripping it off of the ceiling.

Testing and Maintaining

• Follow the manufacturer's instructions, and test all your smoke alarms monthly.
• You should also install new batteries at least once a year. A good reminder is when you change your clocks in the spring or fall: change your clock, change your battery.
• Clean your smoke alarms using a vacuum cleaner without removing the alarm's cover and never paint over a smoke alarm.
• Smoke alarms do not last forever. Replace any smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old.

Plan and Practice

• Make sure everyone is familiar with the sound of the alarm.
• Plan escape routes. Know at least two ways out of each room. Agree on a meeting place outside your home where all residents will gather after they escape. Practice your escape plan at least twice a year.
• Remove obstructions from doors and windows needed for escape.
• Make sure everyone in the household can unlock doors and windows quickly, even in the dark. Windows or doors with security bars should be equipped with quick-release devices and everyone in the household should know how to use them.
• When an alarm sounds, leave immediately. Go directly to your outside meeting place and call the fire department.
• Once you're out, stay out. Never return to a burning building.

Created by the Office of the Fire Marshal “No Time to Spare” is a popular educational video of a fatal fire re-creation to emphasize the importance of preventing fires, maintaining working smoke alarms, practising home fire escape plans and installing residential sprinklers.  Click here to view the video.