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When Smoke Alarms Are a Nuisance
A Call to Action
Lawrence R. Berger, MD, MPH;
Diana M. Kuklinski, RS, MS
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155:875-876.
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There is a clear analogy between smoke detectors and child car seats.
Both technologies have been enthusiastically embraced, and their widespread
distribution has saved many thousands of lives. However, the issue of car
seat misuse has led to a reevaluation of engineering and educational approaches
for child occupant protection.1 It is time
for a similar comprehensive reevaluation of smoke detectors for home fire
safety.
Smoke detectors have been enormously effective in reducing deaths from
house fires.2, 3 This is especially
good news for children younger than 15 years, who make up one quarter of the
4000 annual deaths from fires and burns in the United States.4
Yet many deaths continue to occur because installed detectors are nonfunctioning
when a fire occurs. According to Hall,2 "One-fifth
of homes with smoke detectors and one-third of homes with smoke detectors
that have reported fires . . . [Full Text of this Article]
From the Department of Pediatrics, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
(Dr Berger); and Environmental Health Services Section, Bemidji Area Indian
Health Service, Bemidji, Minn (Ms Kuklinski).
Corresponding author and reprints: Lawrence R. Berger, MD, MPH, 1409
Cumbres St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87112.
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Randomized controlled trial of ionization and photoelectric smoke alarm functionality
Mueller et al.
Inj. Prev. 2008;14:80-86.
ABSTRACT
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