Cottage Q&A
QUESTIONOur cottage is open to the rafters throughout. In one corner, we have a woodstove with a pipe that rises two metres or so before heading outside through the wall. Where is the best location for a smoke detector?
ANSWER
The primary purpose of a smoke alarm is to grab your attention - and if you're asleep, wake you up - so everyone in the cottage can get out fast. That's why, no matter how your cottage is arranged, there must be an alarm just outside each sleeping area, explains Jay DeBernardi, fire chief for the Township of Rideau Lakes. (To be precise, since 1997 the Ontario Fire Code has required a smoke alarm between each sleeping area and the remainder of the building, while the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal further recommends that there be one smoke alarm on every level, including the basement.) In your case, DeBernardi advises, an additional alarm could be mounted high on a wall or rafter in the main living area - but not so high that you can't test it (at least once a month). Don't tuck the alarm into a corner, though. Corners tend to be "dead" air pockets where smoke is slower to reach.
Since your cottage has a woodstove, Chief DeBernardi suggests you also install a carbon monoxide (CO) detector. All fuel-burning devices produce CO as a by-product of combustion, and in most cases the CO is safely vented outside. But if anything obstructs the venting process (for instance, a bird's nest in the chimney), CO can quickly build to dangerous levels. Again, the best place for the detector is where you'll hear it while sleeping.
Fireplace inserts - usually designed to burn with doors shut - can be another source of CO buildup if used improperly, so always follow the instructions.
The Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal offers excellent fact sheets in the fire safety section of its website, with up-to-date advice on choosing, placing, and maintaining smoke alarms and CO detectors: www.firesafetycouncil.com.
* Published in the November/December 2005 issue of Cottage Life
