Smoke alarms

A smoke alarm is the warning that gives your family time to get out. When it sounds, you may have less than 2 minutes to get everyone outside. That only works if the alarm is in the right place and working.

Where to put them

• Inside every bedroom.
• Outside each separate sleeping area, such as the hallway outside the bedrooms.
• On every level of the home, including the basement.
• On the ceiling, or high on a wall. Smoke rises.
• Choose interconnected alarms if you can: when one sounds, they all sound, so you hear a fire on another floor.

Keep them working

• Test every alarm once a month by pressing its test button. An alarm only protects you if it actually works.
• Change the battery at least once a year in alarms with a 9-volt battery, and the backup battery in hardwired alarms. An alarm with a dead battery is the same as no alarm.
• Alarms with a sealed 10-year battery don't need new batteries; replace the whole alarm as its maker says.
• Replace every smoke alarm when it is 10 years old. The date is printed on the back. Sensors wear out and become slower to sense a fire.

For someone who is deaf or hard of hearing

There are alarms made for people with hearing loss, with a strobe light or a shaker that goes under the pillow or mattress.

Sources

• Why each step matters: U.S. Fire Administration, NFPA.
• Every point on this page: U.S. Fire Administration, Smoke alarms (page last reviewed October 13, 2026).