Smoke Alarm Spacing Attic

A second alarm was called with units in route due to multiple rps stating smoke coming from the vents.

Smoke alarm spacing attic.

The us fire administration fema recommends that you have a heat detector rather than a smoke alarm in your garage. Up to this point we have been working with square rooms but this is just as applicable to rectangular spaces as illustrated. I service thousands of smoke detectors every year and they should never be installed in an attic. Another location in a home where you should have a heat detector rather than a smoke alarm is the attic.

There are reasons code does not require them in attics but code is a minimum requirement. In addition no space on the ceiling is more than 0 7 x the detector s listed spacing in this case 21 feet. In existing dwelling units alarms are permitted to be solely battery operated where repairs or alterations do not result in the removal of wall and ceiling finishes or there is no access by means of attic basement or crawl space. The detector is no more than one half its listed spacing from any wall measured at a right angle.

Smoke alarms are not designed for garages and attics and are much more likely to fail than a heat detector. Multi purpose combination carbon and smoke alarms may be used and shall comply with crc section r315. According to section 310 9 1 of the california building code all residences must have smoke detectors installed. Traditional approach the first method is simply to provide detectors at their listed spacing often 30 feet center to center and within half the distance which is 15 feet to walls.

If you want to provide additional protection for attic exposure the proper device is a heat detector. Torrance fire department works a well established attic fire on the 3900 block of w 178th st. Nfpa 72 offers two methods for spacing smoke detectors on smooth ceilings. If the attic space is broken into individual bedrooms ensure the smoke.