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Feb 10, 2005 11:00 pm US/Central
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Alarming Wake-Up Call
Smoke Detectors May Not Wake Up Sleeping Children
by Mary Ann Childers
CHICAGO (CBS 2) ―
They are some of the most important safety devices you can have in your home. Since the mid-70's smoke detectors have cut the number of fire deaths in the U.S. almost by half by waking people up in time to get out. But there's growing concern that they don't work for everyone.
And as Medical Editor Mary Ann Childers reports, it's an alarming wake-up call.
It's the sound you never want to hear. But that piercing, 85-decibel alarm will awaken most adults.
Children are another story. Pediatric sleep experts say children sleep more deeply than adults. And it takes more to wake them up.
"Typically the adult will awaken to the smoke detector … a child won't," said Dr. Stephen Sheldon at Children's Memorial Hospital.
That troubles safety-minded Northsiders Lucy and Alfonso. So they agreed to test smoke detectors with their children, 4-year-old Sophia and 2-year-old Julian. Shooting with a night vision lens, we triggered the alarm right outside their bedroom door.
Both children stirred but never woke up.
"I found this exercise very disturbing," Lucy said.
Would louder be better? Research shows children can even sleep through 120 decibels, which can damage hearing.
But a major study at Victoria University in Australia found something that did work -- voices.
Researchers tested children between ages 6 and 10. They found that 100 percent awoke within one minute to their mother's voices calling a warning. But only 57 percent woke up with standard alarm, and it took some almost three minutes to wake.
"Sophia, Julian. Get up. Get out of the house."
Lucy recorded that warning on a new, talking smoke detector. When we set it off, both awoke in seconds. But they were disoriented and not very alert.
Sleep experts say confusion is common in children under age 10, and a major reason why children who die in fires are often found in unexpected places -- hiding in a toy chest, or a bathtub.
"They might behave like they are up, but they are actually asleep," Sheldon said.
But Lucy believes her voice saying her children's names made a difference.
"It probably triggers something deeper than if we had just said, 'There's a fire, get up." Lucy said.
Dr. Sheldon is encouraged by initial tests of talking smoke detectors, but he's not convinced any device will really work for young children.
"They need to recognize the sound, be awake, and know what to do. That biologically is difficult in younger children," Sheldon said.
Fire safety experts and smoke detector companies advise parents to make sure getting children out of the house is part of their escape plan.
"It's their duty as parents to make sure their children are OK and start them out the door," said Commander Joe Roccasalva with the Chicago Fire Department.
Some fire prevention experts believe the best solution is another kind of device all together --sprinklers. They'll wake everybody in the house up. Experts say victims can be overcome by intense heat, toxic gases, and smoke just minutes into a fire.
We tested smoke detectors in families with older children and got similar results.
Underwriters' Labs advises us that while children may sleep through conventional smoke alarms, there's not enough research yet to show that voice alarms consistently work better. Parents should make sure that getting children out of the house is part of the family escape plan.
What do those residential sprinkler systems cost?
They're not cheap. To retrofit a home with sprinklers costs an average of $3 to $5 a square foot. New construction averages about $1.50 a square foot.
FIRST ALERT STATEMENT
First Alert smoke alarms meet or exceed UL standards, including the UL standards dealing with decibel levels.
The National Fire Protection Association credits smoke alarms with helping reduce fire-related fatalities in the U.S. by over one-third in the last ten years. Having a properly installed and working smoke alarm in your home increases your family's chance of safely escaping a fire by up to fifty percent.
Because smoke alarms may not awaken all individuals, BRK Brands, Inc., the makers of First Alert smoke alarms, recommends:
Install smoke alarms on each level and in each bedroom of your home.
Replace the batteries at least once a year and test your alarm weekly to make sure it is working properly.
Plan an escape route with your family and practice it at least twice a year.
Allow children to master fire escape plans and practice before holding a fire drill.
It is recommended that you hold a fire drill while family members are sleeping in order to determine their response to the sound of the smoke alarm while sleeping and to determine whether they may need assistance in the event of an emergency.
If your smoke alarm sounds, follow your family escape route, get out of the house as quickly as possible, and call the fire department. Do not attempt to fight the fire.
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