Your Home Has A Smoke Detector. Are You Sure It's Really Working?

An estimated 356,000 in-home fires caused more than $7 billion in U.S. residential property damage in 2009, according to data from the United States Fire Administration.

The fires caused more than 12,000 injuries, and killed more than 2,500 people in Brooklyn, NY and nationwide.

Unfortunately, many of affected homes did have smoke detectors -- they just weren't working properly. This is why it's critically important to test your home's smoke detectors at least once annually.

When you test a smoke detector, you're making sure that the alarm will trigger in the event of a real-life fire. A proper test will confirm that the batteries have useful life, and that the device's smoke detection components are operating as expected.

To test your smoke detector, here's what to do :

1. Make a checklist of your home's smoke detectors
2. Go to the first smoke detector
3. Ask a helper to go to the farthest point from the detector within your home
4. Press the smoke detector's testing button up to 10 seconds to activate the alarm
5. Confirm with your helper that the alarm could be heard from his/her location
6. Note on the checklist whether the smoke detector worked, or needs replacement

You can also take your test a step further.

Just because the smoke detector's alarm can be heard from the farthest point in your house doesn't mean that the alarm will sound in the event of a real fire. Therefore, you may want to buy a "smoke test".

Smoke tests are aerosol cans that simulate a bona fide in-home fire. You can buy them for less than $15 at your local hardware store, or at Amazon.com. If your smoke detector fails to sound its alarm in the presence of a "real fire", make sure you replace it right away.

Home Safety Tip : How To Install And Test A Smoke Detector

According to the United States Fire Administration, in 2008, there were an estimated 378,200 in-home fires. Combined, these fires caused $8 billion in property damage and killed 2,600 people.

Unfortunately, many of affected homes did have smoke detectors installed, but the devices were faulty either because of dead batteries, or because the smoke detector had reached the end of its useful life.

This is why it's so important to test your home's smoke detectors at least once annually.

Here's how to test a smoke detector:

1. Ask a family member or friend to walk to the farthest point of the home from the detector.
2. Push and hold the testing button to activate the alarm. Usually, this takes 5 seconds.
3. Confirm with the family member or friend that the alarm was audible from his/her location.

And there's an additional step worth taking.

Just because the smoke detector's alarm works doesn't mean that the actual smoke detector works. For less than $15, therefore, you may want to buy a "smoke test" from Amazon to confirm whether your detector is faulty. The smoke test simulates a real fire so, if the detector fails to sound when it's tested, it's time to replace the entire smoke detector unit.

2,000 residential fires occur on Thanksgiving Day each year -- most of them related to cooking. Before Thursday, make sure your smoke detectors are working. You don't want your home to be Fire #2001.