Proposal Rough Draft Smoke Detectors

Cover Letter
A staggering 85 percent of all fire-related deaths happen in American homes and most of these fire events take place during the night when occupants are asleep. Smoke detector alarms are a vital first line of defense against fire. Researchers have reported that 40 percent of home fire-related deaths happen in households that lack smoke alarms and another 23 percent occur in houses with smoke alarms that have malfunctioned. It is important to ensure greater inclusion of smoke detectors as major components of preparedness for disasters and specifically fire outbreaks in homes. Installing smoke detectors is one of the most important things that homeowners can do to their homes in order protect themselves and their homes from fire hazards. Setting up smoke detectors is straightforward and low-priced and decreases the likelihood of possible serious fire-related injuries or death by up to 50 percent
The use of smoke detectors by homeowners
Latisha Shirley
WRTG 394
Table of Contents
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Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc437165260 \h
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Proposed Solution  PAGEREF _Toc437165261 \h
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Definition and History of Smoke Detectors  PAGEREF _Toc437165262 \h
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Background Information  PAGEREF _Toc437165263 \h
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Statistics  PAGEREF _Toc437165264 \h
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Benefits of the Proposed Solution  PAGEREF _Toc437165265 \h
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Feasibility Study  PAGEREF _Toc437165266 \h
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Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc437165267 \h
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Introduction
Each year, most people are skeptical of the fact that critical incidents such as a fire could actually happen to their family or themselves (Ahrens, 2012). This disbelief and doubts has led to more deaths and damage of property than would have happened with the proper use of smoke detectors (Hall, 2011). Personal safety is being observed keenly by individuals since the September 11th attack as individuals seek to take appropriate precautions aimed at protecting themselves and their loved ones against fires and arson. The National Institute of Health offers a comprehensive safety checklist that guides people living in America and those who travel outside its borders. In addition, it offers home safety prepared for contingencies. Nowadays, installation of smoke alarms has become a need and there has been a rapid advancement of this technology. The use of smoke detectors has helped firefighters to be more effective and successful in saving of lives and in property protection. Even with the technological advancement of smoke detectors, an astounding 85% of all fire deaths occur in American homes and majority of these fire incidents happens at night when most people are sleeping (National Fire Protection Association, 2015).
Smoke alarms are an important first line of defense against fire. Preliminary research from Fairfield Fire Department reveals that 1 in every 5 smoke alarms installed in homes in America are not in a working condition (National Fire Protection Association, 2015). The National Fire Protection Association (2015) also reports that homes with smoke detectors display significant differences than homes without smoke detectors. Statistics by Fire Prevention Week that indicate 40% of home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms and another 23% happen in homes with smoke alarms that do not work (National Fire Protection Association, 2015). These alarming figures could be significantly reduced by the implementation of the proposed program. This research proposes the solution to this problem with aim of presenting the findings of this research to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) for consideration for implementation of those findings in conjunction with homeowners. The key audience of this research is homeowners.
Proposed Solution
The proposed solution to this problem is the creation of a community program that would ensure each home has the proper number of working smoke alarms and an initiative under that program that assists the community in maintaining functional smoke alarms. This research seeks to validate the benefits of implementing such a program. Ensuring each home has the proper number of working smoke alarms and the need to assist the community in maintaining functional smoke alarms will greatly help in reducing the number of home fire deaths in the United States (Ohio, 2009). On the whole, the potential benefits of successfully implementing this program include the following: an estimated 890 lives could be saved each year if all homes had working smoke alarms (Hurley, 2015); and the program would eliminate the problem by helping the 74 percent of families have never developed and practiced a home fire escape plan to be trained on fire preparedness.
Audience and purpose of proposed research
Homeowners are the audiences of this research. This report calls for greater inclusion of smoke detectors as major elements of preparedness for disasters and specifically fire outbreaks in homes. Installing smoke detectors is one of the most important things homeowners can do to their homes to protect themselves from fire hazards. Installing smoke detectors is simple and inexpensive and reduces the chances of potential serious fire injuries or death by up to 50 percent (Hall, 2011). The solution presented in the proposed research entails developing a community-wide program that would ensure that all homeowners in America actually have the appropriate smoke alarms in their homes and that the smoke detectors are in sufficient number in the homeowners’ homes. Furthermore, an initiative would be developed which would be aimed at assisting homeowners to maintain effective and functional smoke alarms in their homes. It is notable that ensuring each homeowner has enough functional smoke alarms would significantly help in reducing the number of home fire deaths in the America (Ohio, 2009).
Definition and History of Smoke Detectors
A smoke detector is a sensor device that sounds a siren or bell thereby giving a warning in case a fire breaks out (Hurley, 2015). Smoke detectors, also referred to as smoke alarms, are designed to sense heat or smoke which prompts a siren or a bell to warn the occupants of the impending fire. It is recommended that every home has one smoke detector per floor. In 1930, a Swiss physicist named Walter Jaeger developed the first smoke detector by trying to develop an alarm to detect poisonous gases. Jaeger’s first attempt to detect the poisonous gases failed and he decided to take a break and have a cigarette. After the ignition of his cigarette, the smoke entered Jaeger’s device and it activated (Chagger, 2015).
Jaeger’s unintentional discovery of the smoke detector allowed room for advancement in fire alarm technology. Such advancement was accomplished in 1967 when the first battery-powered smoke detector was created making it easily installed and replaced. In the 1960s most businesses and public buildings had them equipped, and by 1969, the battery smoke detector received its first UL rating (Stone, 2012). During the 70s, when awareness of residential detectors increased considerably, numerous programs started to hand out battery-powered smoke detectors. Due to this practice, deaths from residential fires decreased significantly. However, since the average battery-life is only one year long and most people neglected to change out their batteries, the death rate rose one year after these programs ended.
The main types of smoke detector alarm systems that individuals and families can use in their homes and businesses to prevent fire-related deaths include the photoelectric light-dispersing smoke detector and photoelectric light obscuration smoke detector. Others are air-sampling/air-aspirated smoke detectors, air-duct smoke detectors, linear beam smoke detectors and analog smoke detectors.
Background Information
Because of the innovative advances and the rising sympathy toward open security, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has been regulating how smoke identifiers ought to be utilized in households. Since 1970, the NFPA code 72 has been upholding the best possible utilization of smoke identifiers. As of now, homes are required by NFPA 72 to have a smoke finder in every room. This part was instituted in the 1993 variant,...