Smoke detectors...

[caseydog]

I've seen a lot of videos and read a lot of online posts about smoke detectors going off during cooking. In all of my homes in Texas, I've never had a smoke detector near my kitchen. Building codes here don't require it. We just have to have them inside and outside of every bedroom, and they have to be wired together so if one goes off, they all go off.

Is it different in other states/countries? Do kitchens have to have smoke detectors? If I had to have that here, I would just take it down.

CD

 

[taxlady]

My entire ground floor is open plan, except for the entre and the washroom. The kitchen is at the front of my house and the smoke detector is near the patio door at the rear. I think it's 40' from the front wall to the rear wall.

Here, I don't think I have to have a smoke detector. I know it's highly recommended. I have one on each floor. They are all independent, battery as the only power source. At least the one on the ground floor has a pause button. I don't have to rip the battery out to make it stop screaming.

 

[caseydog]

My entire ground floor is open plan, except for the entre and the washroom. The kitchen is at the front of my house and the smoke detector is near the patio door at the rear. I think it's 40' from the front wall to the rear wall.

Here, I don't think I have to have a smoke detector. I know it's highly recommended. I have one on each floor. They are all independent, battery as the only power source. At least the one on the ground floor has a pause button. I don't have to rip the battery out to make it stop screaming.

My house is open plan, too, but the nearest smoke detector to my kitchen is right outside the master suite, which is pretty well isolated from the rest of the house. The smoke would have to be pretty excessive for it to get to that smoke detector.

I was mostly wondering if some places require a smoke detector in or near the kitchen.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

Two of the houses I built, one in 1996, I don't remember them ever going off - so I don't remember where they were.
The one in 2000, required them to be wired together and hardwired to the breaker box. Being an open concept 28 x 28 the alarm was placed not too far from my kitchen area. I was not there the day it was installed. AND it would go off if I boiled water in a kettle and/or during a rain storm.
I finally got so tired of it when we had a rain storm in the middle of the night - I turned off the breaker and never turned it back on til the day I sold it.

But to answer your question I don't know if there is a specific rule on where the alarms are set. I do know that the rules are basically only enforced or applied to new constructions. They do not go around checking all homes for where the alarms are. Or at least I've never been somewhere that it has happened.

 

[Andy M.]

At least in MA the rule is one on each level. I have three levels: basement, main floor (living room, dining area and kitchen), second floor (bedrooms and full bath). The alarm on our main floor is at the foot of the stairs going up to the second floor. It goes off every time I make pizza. Now I disconnect it before I start.

 

[FrankZ]

See

Installing and maintaining smoke alarms - NFPA

Installing your home smoke alarms correctly - and making sure they are in working order - is an important step to making your home and family safer from fire.

www.nfpa.org

 

[HeyItsSara]

pretty sure they are supposed to be near bedrooms. not sure why anyone would put them near their kitchen

 

[jennyema]

I have a hardwired one on the first floor that was installed before I bought the house. It’s 6 feet away from the kitchen and goes off once in awhile when I cook. The fire department has only come once …

It does have a little plastic cover

 

[caseydog]

Two of the houses I built, one in 1996, I don't remember them ever going off - so I don't remember where they were.
The one in 2000, required them to be wired together and hardwired to the breaker box. Being an open concept 28 x 28 the alarm was placed not too far from my kitchen area. I was not there the day it was installed. AND it would go off if I boiled water in a kettle and/or during a rain storm.
I finally got so tired of it when we had a rain storm in the middle of the night - I turned off the breaker and never turned it back on til the day I sold it.

But to answer your question I don't know if there is a specific rule on where the alarms are set. I do know that the rules are basically only enforced or applied to new constructions. They do not go around checking all homes for where the alarms are. Or at least I've never been somewhere that it has happened.

They enforce it on older homes by requiring a house to meet code when you sell it, before the deal can close. Insurance companies won't write policies for homes that don't meet certain safety codes, either.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

Ahhh, yes, especially in Quebec. Selling constraints are very tough. An agent might never be recommended again if they were not to notice an older home not having them and an inspector would be in the same boat.
Not sure about Ontario but from what I've picked up on so far they are certainly not like Quebec's.

 

[taxlady]

I have only had to deal with disposable smoke detectors inside of any home I have lived in. I think the first time we bought them was when we bought a house in 1989, but I can't remember for sure if we did get them. Same for the apartment I lived in before I moved in with my late husband. I'm pretty sure he already had smoke detectors in this house. I have never moved into a home at a time when smoke detectors were legally required. Mine have always been just because I thought it was a good idea.