Smoke Alarm Study

Being asleep at the time of a residential fire is an important risk factor for fire-related death. Although home fire safety professionals have expressed significant concerns regarding the ineffectiveness of conventional smoke alarms for sleeping children, relatively little research has been done on this important issue. 

The objective of this study was to determine the key smoke alarm characteristics that result in successful awakening of children and prompt their rapid escape. This is essential for the development of an effective and practical smoke alarm for sleeping children for use in homes and other locations where children sleep.

Funding

The Smoke Alarm Study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Media Coverage

Additional Smoke Alarm Study Resources

  • Age-Dependent Responsiveness to Smoke Alarm Signals Among Children
  • Sound the Alarm: Researchers Determine More Effective Ways to Awaken Children and Their Families During a House Fire
  • Optimizing smoke alarm signals: Testing the effectiveness of children’s smoke alarms for sleeping adults
  • Comparison of the effectiveness of female voice, male voice, and hybrid voice-tone smoke alarms for sleeping children
  • Do Sleeping Children Respond Better to a Smoke Alarm That Uses Their Mother's Voice?
  • Effectiveness of a Voice Smoke Alarm Using the Child's Name for Sleeping Children: A Randomized Trial
  • Comparison of a personalized parent voice smoke alarm with a conventional residential tone smoke alarm for awakening children

For more information regarding home fire safety, please visit the Fire & Burns page.