With your newfound repair skills, you ought to be able to keep your place running pretty smoothly. But unless you’re equipped for real emergencies, all the repairs in this book will not keep you, your family, or your home safe. You need to have the right safety equipment in your house, and know how to use and maintain it. You also need to train your family members how to exit the house in an emergency, and know where everyone will meet up once they’re out. Finally, when you have someone watching your home while you’re away, you need to give them the critical emergency and repair information, should they need to address a problem with your house in your absence. It’s probably true that you don’t keep your plumber’s phone number in your pocket when you go on vacation!

The modern smoke detector was patented in 1969; since then, this simple, inexpensive household device has saved countless lives. And it can save yours.

There’s only one thing to remember once you’ve installed smoke detectors: you must maintain them. This is critical; a smoke detector that’s not working because of a tripped circuit breaker or a dead or removed battery is worthless.

Sometimes folks get annoyed because their smoke detector is chirping. This can mean a couple of things:

The National Fire Protection Association recommends replacing smoke detectors every 10 years—even if they don’t chirp!

The ear-splitting beep of the detector is its life-saving feature; this alarm is designed to rouse even the heaviest sleeper.

Every month, test every detector in your house by pressing the test button on the surface of the detector for a few seconds. If the beep doesn’t sound, replace the battery. If the new battery doesn’t make the alarm go off when you test it, replace the detector.

If your smoke detectors are hard-wired (connected to your electrical system), and they don’t sound when you press the test button, check to see that the circuit breaker on your electrical panel that controls the detectors is in the “on” position. If it is not, flip it on. If the detectors still don’t beep when tested, call an electrician.

In general, fresh batteries last at least a year. However, most safety organizations recommend that you change the batteries in the smoke detector every time you change the clocks (spring ahead, fall back) as an extra precaution—it’s a routine that’s easy to remember.

Smoke detectors should be installed on every level of the home, and near sleeping areas. If you or your family members sleep with bedroom doors closed, install the smoke detector inside the bedroom. Smoke rises, so install the detectors on a ceiling, or on the wall close to the ceiling.

Avoid installing detectors near heating appliances, windows, or close to ceiling fans, which can foil the effectiveness of the detector, or cause conditions that make it sound when no smoke or fire conditions exist.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that is the product of incomplete combustion from any device that is not electrically fueled: gas ranges, ovens, clothes dryers, furnaces, grills, space heaters, water heaters, fireplaces, and vehicles. Open flames produced by ovens and ranges are the most common sources of carbon monoxide; vehicles cause the most carbon monoxide poisoning.

Because you can’t see or smell carbon monoxide, it is potentially lethal. Carbon monoxide detectors with an audible alarm have been around for the past twenty years.

Carbon monoxide detectors can be mounted on the wall at least five feet above the floor, or mounted on the ceiling.

Place a CO detector in the sleeping areas in your home. Because it is impossible to detect, a lethal dose of CO is most dangerous to sleepers.

Because CO is often produced by heat sources, do not install the detector close to gas appliances or near a fireplace; it will often give you a false alarm when placed in these locations.

Replace the battery when you replace smoke detector batteries; like smoke detector batteries, check the CO detector alarm once a month. You may have to hold down the tester button for 5-10 seconds to sound the alarm.

Don’t ignore this alarm. Get all members of your household (including pets) out of the house immediately and call 911. Know the symptoms of CO poisoning:

If the alarm sounds and any members of the household have these symptoms, call 911.

You always hear the caution to keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and the garage, and any place else where there’s danger of a sudden fire. But how much do you really know about fire extinguishers?

Do you know how they work?

Do you know what types of fires your fire extinguisher will put out?

Is your fire extinguisher in good working order? How can you tell?

In fact, unless a fire is quite small—in a frying pan, or a wastebasket—most fire prevention authorities would prefer you to leave the house and leave the firefighting to the professionals.

But here are some things you should know:

Don’t try to use an extinguisher to put out a fire if you are not familiar with its operation. The contents of this device are under pressure and come out with some force. Practice using the extinguisher before you need it so you will know how it works. That said, when you use an extinguisher—even to try it—it must be recharged right away (if it is rechargeable) or discarded. A partially discharged extinguisher is useless. Yes, it’s an expense to have to discard a non-rechargeable extinguisher after practicing with it, but it’s worth it.

To use the extinguisher, remember the acronym P.A.S.S.:

Don’t put the extinguisher in the back of a closet or cabinet. Fire can spread rapidly, and you may endanger yourself or others while trying to get to the extinguisher in an emergency. The wall near the entry to the kitchen, garage, or basement is a logical place to mount a fire extinguisher.

When you check your smoke and CO detectors every month, put your extinguishers on the safety route, too. Check the following:

Emergencies that happen can be scary for everyone in the family—children and adults. If the smoke or CO alarm goes off in your house, does everyone know what to do? You all should.

Getting cooperation on making an emergency escape plan can be difficult; it sounds like chores! Make it into a contest; dream up a prize for whoever can perform the drill in the least time. Serve a treat when you finish practicing. Do what you have to do so that your family knows what to do if there’s an emergency and they have to leave the house quickly.

Here are the procedures that you need to review with your family members. Be sure to cover all the points:

Run through your escape plan every couple of weeks until it’s automatic. Then do it at least twice a year—perhaps when you change your smoke detector batteries.

When you’re away and someone else is watching your home, or more important, taking care of your children and/or pets, your caretaker/caregiver needs to know how to use your home’s main controls, and whom to call if things should go wrong in a hurry. Get yourself a notebook with a red cover (red is easy to see and broadcasts “important”).

In addition to standard emergency info—numbers where you can be reached, emergency service numbers (police, fire, ambulance), doctors (for your children)—you should list the following:

Making the safety preparations detailed in this chapter takes only a little time, and it’s time well spent. Doing everything that’s within your power to protect your home and family is its own reward. My wish to every reader is that none of this equipment will ever need to be put to use in your home. But you’ll feel good just knowing it’s there and ready.