Facts & Tips

Becky’s Smoke Alarm interrupts her moment of zen with an important message.

Having Working Smoke Alarms Can Save Your Life

Fire spreads faster than ever through homes today, meaning you have less time to escape in the event of a fire. With only three minutes or less to escape, smoke alarms give you and your loved ones the earliest warning possible that there is a fire, so you can get out of your home quickly and safely.

It's important to have working smoke alarms installed on every floor of your home, including inside and outside every sleeping area. When replacing or buying new smoke alarms, look for products that are third-party listed or certified.

more facts and figures about
smoke alarms

Becky’s Smoke Alarm interrupts her moment of zen with an important message.

Safety Standards

Billy and his Smoke Alarm go way back. Now his Smoke Alarm can better distinguish between smoke from a fire and his cooking.

ENHANCED SAFETY
STANDARDS: UL 217, UL 268

New editions of UL safety standards for smoke alarms and smoke detectors have performance-based technology requirements, enabling products to better distinguish between cooking smoke and that of a potentially life-threatening fire. These enhancements help minimize cooking nuisance alarms, the top reason why people disable their devices.

more about the
enhanced standards

First Responder Toolbox

 

Fire Safety Press Release

Fire safety experts share how closed doors and new smoke alarm technologies help keep people safe.

WHAT'S COOKING

Meet Billy and his Smoke Alarm. Unlike Billy’s cooking, his Smoke Alarm has improved over the years. With new technology, the Smoke Alarm can now better distinguish between smoke from cooking and smoke from a real, potentially life-threatening fire.

CANDLE CATASTROPHE

Meet Becky and her Smoke Alarm. When Becky’s candles catch fire during a moment of zen, her Smoke Alarm alerts her — letting her know she has less than three minutes to escape a home fire.

SWEET DREAMS

Meet Bob and his Smoke Alarm. Bob can sleep tight knowing that his Smoke Alarm is on alert for smoke and flames from fire, no matter the hour.

Share Fire Safety on Social Media

Help spread the word of fire safety and share the importance of closing your bedroom door each night, having an exit plan, and checking your smoke alarms monthly. Join us by copying, pasting and tagging these downloadable social posts on your social media channels!

Real Life CBYD Rescue – Fairfax

Checking your smoke alarms, having an exit plan, and closing your bedroom door each night are all important fire prevention methods. Watch this chilling, real-life example from the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department regarding how closing your door can save lives.

REBEKAH'S STORY

When Rebekah Brewster Johnson headed to bed the evening of May 5, 2002, she was unaware that within hours she'd be fighting for her life.

WHAT THE BEEP

Ever wonder what all those different beeping sounds coming from your smoke alarm mean?

DAVE'S BURGERS

Cooking hamburgers is just one of the 50 tests UL smoke alarm technicians conduct.

Links

For more information please explore these resources.

UL FIRE RESEARCH:

UL FIREFIGHTER SAFETY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

UL FSRI is dedicated to increasing firefighter knowledge to reduce injuries and deaths in the fire service and in the communities they serve.

Learn more

Public Education Resources:

Close Your Door

One simple action in homes could potentially save lives: Close Before You Doze. Learn more about this fire safety campaign and access resources.

Learn more

Xplorlabs

UL Xplorlabs is an educational platform designed to encourage students to “solve through science.”

Learn more

UL Safety Smart®

Safety Smart is a global educational program designed to improve children's awareness and understanding of safety, health and environmental issues, and ultimately impact their behavior.

Learn more

SafeBee

SafeBee provides more safety information and resources for consumers from UL.

Learn more

More fire safety info:

National Fire Protection Association

The NFPA is devoted to eliminating death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards.

Learn more

UL Code Authorities

Code authorities count on UL’s technical expertise to provide certification services, cutting edge research, and the technical support needed to provide code compliant installations.

Learn more

Smoke Alarm Fire Testing

The goal and outcome of UL research is to develop criteria that will improve the performance of smoke alarm technologies.

Learn more

Check Your Smoke Alarm

Having working smoke alarms can save your life, it’s just as important as wearing a seatbelt in your car! Read these tips to be sure you are informed and ready.

Learn more

Don't Wait Check the Date

Age is more than a number when it comes to smoke alarms. Here is a quick and easy step-by-step guide on how to check the date on your smoke alarms.

Learn more

Home Safety Checklist

Have a fire drill. Have you created your home safety checklist?

Learn more

Press Center

If you are interested in interviewing a UL expert about our fire research, fire safety or the revised smoke alarm standard, please connect with us.

contact us download (zip 344MB)

Press Center

If you are interested in interviewing a UL expert about our fire research, fire safety or the revised smoke alarm standard, please connect with us.

contact us

download (zip 344MB)