Evaluating the Need for a Consumer Focused Smoke Alarm Performance System
Authors
Everett Vincent Pope Baker, Tyler J. Bennett, James Jarlath Mosteller, John V. Williams
Sponsor
United States Consumer Product Safety Commission
Advisors
Fred J. Looft, Brigitte Servatius
Term
October – December 2015
Project Outcomes
Abstract
Smoke Alarms play a key role in early detection of home structure fires. Annually there are 357,000 home fires in the United States. These fires result in an average of 2,470 civilian deaths, 12,890 civilian injuries, and $6.9 billion in direct property damage each year. Working in coordination with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), we researched aspects of this problem with the focus of identifying whether a performance based rating system for smoke alarms would be beneficial to consumers in order to get better performing and safer smoke alarms into consumers’ homes. We made recommendations to the CPSC on how to continue studying consumers, smoke alarms, and to look into a performance based rating system and a features list.