Posted on Thursday, February 17th, 2022 | 2,039 views
To start off, note that the law in Ontario states all homes must have a working smoke alarm on every floor, and an alarm placed outside all sleeping areas. The laws apply to specific living conditions too. These conditions include the following:
Smoke Alarms for Specific Living Conditions
Tenants
Tenants are not permitted to remove the batteries from, or tamper with smoke detectors. A tenant can replace the batteries with working ones if the old batteries lost power, but it is highly advised to contact your landlord if you believe the detector needs to be fixed or replaced.
Home Owners
Homeowners are required to install and maintain smoke alarms on every floor of their home and on the outside of all sleeping rooms. These days, new build homes come with the smoke alarm requirements already taken care of, but some older homes may need to be upgraded to be in line with the current laws.
Maintenance involves a few simple procedures including making sure the detector works by testing it with it’s test function, and ensuring the batteries are fully charged.
Landlords
It is the complete responsibility of landlords that rent out their homes to ensure their rental complies with the law with respect to smoke detectors. It is also a landlords responsibility to ensure they are working, and have enough battery power. They must also be regularly maintained, installed properly and tested on a regular basis. This applies to all rental types including houses, apartments and condominiums.
As we listed on our home environmental sensors page, not only is it the law, but there are many benefits to installing not only a simple smoke alarm, but you should invest in a smart smoke detector.
The Benefits of Smart Smoke Detectors
Smart smoke alarms and detectors give you early warnings of a fire and will send an alert to your device wherever you are. The following are some of the main features to consider when choosing a smart model over a simple fire detector:
- Smart alarms assess whether to dispatch emergency services and will do so if needed.
- The alarm is sounded to notify you of smoke or fire.
- You receive real-time alerts of the situation.
- Your smart thermostat shuts down your HVAC system.
- Monitored smoke detection ensures a fire crew is dispatched immediately.
These are the kind of features that help ensure your family will be able to leave the premises quickly and safely, and increase the chances of your home being saved from being completely destroyed by fire.
General Rules of Practice
Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of your house and on the outside of each sleeping area. Only one alarm needs to be installed if the rooms come out to a common hallways.
Smoke alarms shouldn’t be installed near a bathroom, kitchens, a ceiling fan, or near windows because it could pickup cause annoying false alarms.
Testing Your Smoke Alarm
Make sure to test your smoke alarm a few times a year to ensure it’s working and if it’s not, replace the batteries right away. Of course battery testing doesn’t have to be done if it’s connected to a wired power source and thus, the rest of your home security system.
Maintaining Your Smoke Alarm
It depends on how much dust your home accumulates, but it’s important to regularly make sure there’s no dust clogging up the alarm and causing it to malfunction. If you find it’s dusty, just grab your vacuum hose, and give it quick clean to make sure all the dust is gone.