Where to Install Smoke Detectors

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends that every home have a smoke detector outside each sleeping area (inside as well if members of the household sleep with the door closed) and on every level of the home, including the basement. The National Fire Alarm Code, developed by NFPA, requires a smoke detector inside each sleeping area for new construction. On floors without bedrooms, detectors should be installed in or near living areas, such as dens, lining rooms, or family rooms.

For extra protection, NFPA suggest installing detectors in dining rooms, furnace rooms, utility rooms, and hallways. Smoke detectors are not recommended for kitchens, bathrooms, or garages - where cooking fumes, steam, or exhaust fumes could set off false alarms - or for attics and other unheated spaces where humidity and temperature changes might affect a detector's operation.

Mount detectors high on a wall or on the ceiling. Wall-mounted units should be installed so that the top of the detector is 4 to 12 inches (10 to 30 centimeters) from the ceiling. A ceiling-mounted detector should be attached at least 4 inches (10 centimeters) from the nearest wall. In a room with a pitched ceiling, mount the detector at or near the ceiling's highest point.

In stairways with no doors at the top or bottom, position smoke detectors anywhere in the path of smoke moving up the stairs. Always position smoke detectors at the bottom of closed stairways, such as those leading from the basement, because dead air trapped near the door at the top of the stairway could prevent smoke from reaching a detector located at the top. In unfurnished rooms, such as basements, detectors should be mounted on the bottom of the joists.

Don't install a smoke detector too near a window, door or forced-air register where drafts could interfere with the detector's operation.

(Reprinted from NFPA FACT-96)