Professional Home Inspections
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Home Safety Tips and Links

This page contains downloads and links to home safety related issues dealing with swimming pools, smoke alarms etc. Please feel free to download and distribute this information and share it with your clients, colleagues, friends and families. And you are welcome to link directly to this page from your website.

IMPORTANT INFO! Even if you don’t hire me to complete your Home Inspection, please take my advice and share this info with your family:

On the very first day you move in to your new home, gather your family and do a complete walk through of the house making fire escape notes. You’ll be in a new and different house that you are not familiar with so learn the layout of the home and figure out two escape routes from every room in case of fire. Make sure you and your children practice and memorize these escape routes.

Also, if your new home has a swimming pool, make sure all doors leading to the pool area have working self-closing devices attached to each door and/or a proper safety barrier fence installed around the pool. If your home has a pet door installed that leads to the pool area make sure the safety door is attached and locked in place.

Smoke Alarm 101: Ionization VS Photoelectric

Which type of alarm should I use to protect my family?

The following information can be found on the National Fire Protection Association website.

The two most commonly recognized smoke detection technologies are ionization smoke detection and photoelectric smoke detection.

Ionization smoke alarms are generally more responsive to flaming fires.  How they work: Ionization-type smoke alarms have a small amount of radioactive material between two electrically charged plates, which ionizes the air and causes current to flow between the plates. When smoke enters the chamber, it disrupts the flow of ions, thus reducing the flow of current and activating the alarm.

Photoelectric smoke alarms are generally more responsive to fires that begin with a long period of smoldering (called “smoldering fires”).  How they work: Photoelectric-type alarms aim a light source into a sensing chamber at an angle away from the sensor. Smoke enters the chamber, reflecting light onto the light sensor; triggering the alarm.

Many of my clients have asked my opinion on which type of smoke alarm they should be buying – the Ionization type or the Photoelectric type. I am NOT nor do I claim to be an expert on smoke alarms. I have researched online and compared the two types of alarms and in my personal opinion I feel there is enough evidence available that shows that the Photoelectric smoke alarms appear to be substantially faster, more reliable and therefor safer than the Ionization type of smoke alarms. This is what I have concluded after searching online and reading numerous articles. I suggest that you do your own research and come to your own conclusions about what type of smoke alarms you want to use to protect you and your family.

The following Rossen Report video originally aired on October 3, 2012 on both the NBC Today Show and on the NBC Nightly News. It is still relevant today and well worth watching:

The following downloads include info on smoke detectors, escape routes, etc. Click in the arrows in the lower left corner to scroll through the pages or click the download button to save:

Home Fire Escape Plan If a fire occurred in your home tonight, would your family get out safely? Download the attached 2 page flyer and make your Home Fire Escape Plan Today!

Fire Safety Tips For Your Home – Essential smoke alarm, escape planning and fire safety info in a two page flyer:

Parents and educators play a vital role in teaching children fire safety and reducing the risk of child-set fires. This activity book provides children ages 5 through 9 with valuable learning tools about fire safety and prevention. To reinforce the lessons in the book, we encourage you to lead a discussion about fire safety and prevention for children using the following information and fire safety tips:

Swimming Pool Safety

Back yard swimming pools are a source for countless hours of entertainment and enjoyment here in the Valley of the Sun. Owning a swimming pool carries with it important safety responsibilities as well. The following downloads are full of excellent information that pool owners need to learn and share with their families.

Water Safety Activity and Coloring BookThis 10 page booklet is full of fun pictures, mazes, word games and much more! And it teaches excellent safety practices to children!

Printable Water Watcher Tags – Download and print these Official “Water Watcher” tags. A GREAT way to make certain an adult is supervising the pool at all times!

Water Safety Tips Flyer – This is a printable 2 page flyer discussing Lock, Look, Learn and Teach aspects of Family water Safety.