• Home
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Safety Alerts
  • Divisions
    • Administration
      • Meet Our Team
      • Chief Stephen Laforet
      • Organization Chart
    • Apparatus / Equipment
      • Apparatus Types
      • Equipment
      • Mechanic Certifications
      • Apparatus Locations
    • Communications
    • Emergency Management
    • Fire & Rescue
      • Fire Stations
      • Medical Response
      • After the Fire
      • Firefighters
        • In the Line of Duty
        • Padre’s Corner
        • Prayers, Creeds & Thoughts
        • Co-op Students
          • Spring 2020
          • Fall 2019
          • Spring 2019
          • Alumni Photo Gallery
    • Fire Prevention
      • Investigation
      • Prevention / Education
    • Training / Recruiting
  • Fire Prevention
    • Fire Prevention Week
      • Sparky’s Weekly Challenge
    • Fire Safety Plan Templates
    • Information Requests & Applications
    • Lock Box Program
    • Smoke Alarm/Carbon Monoxide Alarm Information
    • Important Ontario Fire Code Information
    • Fire Prevention Videos
  • Emergency Management
    • Emergency Preparedness Guide
    • Lake and River Flooding
    • Residential Guide to Flood Prevention and Recovery
  • Public Education
    • Building Owners
    • Carbon Monoxide Information
    • Child/Youth Fire Safety
    • COPE – Care Outreach and Prevention for Everyone
    • Fire Safety & Fall Prevention for Older Adults
    • General Fire Safety Issues
    • High-Rise Fire Safety
    • Home Fire Safety
    • Outdoor Fire Safety
    • Smoke Alarm Information
    • Sprinklers
    • Translated Materials
      • English
      • Arabic
      • Chinese – Simplified
      • Chinese – Traditional
      • French
      • Khmer
      • Korean
      • Portuguese
      • Punjabi
      • Spanish
      • Urdu
    • When Disaster Strikes
  • WFRS History
    • WFRS Apparatus Histories
    • Windsor Fire Stations Histories
    • Firefighting Traditions
    • Historic Windsor Fires
    • Miscellaneous History Articles
  • FAQ
  • Links
  • Contact
    • Windsor Fire & Rescue Services
    • Essex County Fire Services

WindsorFire.com

  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Flickr
  • RSS Feed
  • Ionization vs. Photoelectric Smoke Alarms

    • in Smoke Alarm Information
    • — 27 Jan, 2011
    • A A A

    There have been recent claims in the newspapers stating that smoke alarms utilizing ionization technology are less effective than photoelectric type smoke alarms. The claims state that there are significant delays in response times from ionization alarms and go on to suggest that people should replace their ionization smoke alarms with photoelectric or combination units.

    The Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) would like to stress that scientifically-based testing has been conducted by the Underwriters Laboratories of Canada (ULC) and Underwriters Laboratories Incorporated (UL) which have demonstrated that “both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms…will respond as early warning devices well before a fire situation gets to be untenable and can provide sufficient time for escape. Quite simply, the science does not support claims that ionization smoke alarms are less effective than photoelectric alarms”.

    Ionization and photoelectric alarms operate on different principles, and they may respond differently to various fire conditions. However, it is important to understand that regardless of the type of technology used – both alarms are tested to the same standard and must meet the same level of performance to achieve ULC listing. Since one cannot predict the type of fire that may occur, installing both types of alarms can enhance fire safety.

    When purchasing smoke alarms, look for a product which bears the mark of an accredited certification organization. This signifies that the unit has been manufactured and tested to an acceptable Canadian standard. Two examples of such marks are as follows:

    The OFM feels that a much more important issue than the type of smoke alarm technology people have is the number of people that die in fires in homes that are not equipped with any working smoke alarms. In Ontario, between 2005 and 2009, 63 fire fatalities occurred in preventable residential fires in homes where smoke alarms were either missing; had dead batteries or there were no batteries installed at all. Therefore, it is extremely important that working smoke alarms are installed and maintained.

    Share

    You may also like...

    • Smoke Alarm Information Smoke Alarm Maintenance Checklist 4 Sep, 2018
    • Smoke Alarm Information Smoke Alarm Maintenance Info for Tenants & Occupants in Rental Units 22 May, 2009
    • Smoke Alarm Information Smoke Alarm Installation Guideline – Two-storey Split Level Home 6 Jan, 2010
    • Smoke Alarm Information Smoke Alarm Guidelines 13 Nov, 2013
    • Public Education
      • Building Owners
      • Child/Youth Fire Safety
      • Fire Safety & Fall Prevention for Older Adults
      • General Fire Safety Issues
      • High-Rise Fire Safety
      • Home Fire Safety
      • Outdoor Fire Safety
      • Smoke Alarm Information
      • Sprinklers
      • Translated Materials
        • English
        • Arabic
        • Chinese – Simplified
        • Chinese – Traditional
        • French
        • Khmer
        • Korean
        • Portuguese
        • Punjabi
        • Spanish
        • Urdu
        • Vietnamese
      • When Disaster Strikes
    • Home
    • Home
    • Public Education
    • Smoke Alarm Information
    • Ionization vs. Photoelectric Smoke Alarms
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Flickr
  • RSS Feed
    • Our Current Programs

      COPE - Caring Outreach Program and Education
      Interested in a career of Firefighting?
    • Latest Tweet

      Tweets by @WindsorFire1
    • Flickr Feed

      3034 USAR Pick-Up Truck4049 - Flood Response Trailer3034- Urban Search & Rescue Truck4048 - Engine 64037 – Fire/Police Command Post4039 – Hazmat 13024 – Fire Special Ops Vehicle for Hazmat4047 - Emergency Supply Unit (ESU)3027 (Fire Investigation Van)
    • Home
    • Translated Materials
    • FAQ
    • Links
    • Contact Us
    • Site Map

    City of Windsor | © 2018 WindsorFire.com | Website created by: WebPlanet.ca