Kidde A, B, C, PB Owner's Manual

WARNING — This Smoke Alarm will sound a short beep when a battery is

connected. Do not use this Smoke Alarm with any external bug screens or
Smoke Alarm guards. Use of these types of devices may reduce Smoke
Alarm response time.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SMOKE ALARM

• Before siting your Smoke Alarm, you must read this entire Instruction Manual.

• Site a Smoke Alarm in each room and area of your home. See section 3.

• Smoke Alarms cannot give you an early warning of fire or smoke unless you
site, use, and maintain them by following these instructions.

• You must hear the alarm’s warning sound and quickly respond to it to reduce
the risk of damage, injury, or death that may result from a fire.

• Your Smoke Alarm is packaged with the battery disconnected. Connect it to the
battery leads before mounting the Smoke Alarm.

• A Smoke Alarm will not work properly without a good battery inserted
correctly. The Smoke Alarm must be tested when a new battery is inserted
and every week after that.

• A Smoke Alarm that beeps about once per minute means the battery is weak,
and you need a new battery.

• A Smoke Alarm should never be used, in any case, for more than 10 years.

CONTENTS OF THIS MANUAL

1. WHAT SMOKE ALARMS CAN DO.

2. WHAT SMOKE ALARMS WILL NOT DO.

3. WHERE YOU SHOULD SITE SMOKE ALARMS.

4. WHERE YOU SHOULD NOT SITE SMOKE ALARMS.

5. HOW TO SITE YOUR SMOKE ALARM.

6. WEEKLY TESTING OF YOUR SMOKE ALARM.

7. TAKING CARE OF YOUR SMOKE ALARM.

8. REPLACING THE BATTERY.

9. USING THE TAMPER-RESISTANT LOCKING MECHANISM.

10. SPECIAL SMOKE ALARM FEATURES.

11. GUARANTEE INFORMATION

12. WHERE TO SEND YOUR SMOKE ALARM FOR SERVICE.

1. WHAT SMOKE ALARMS CAN DO:

Smoke Alarms can only HELP protect your home and family against loss
resulting from a fire. The best protection is obtained by siting Smoke Alarms
in each room, on each level, and each other area of the home. This will help
the people in the home hear and respond to the alarm sound.

Your Smoke Alarm meets or exceeds the requirements for audibility, or
loudness, set by British Standards BS5446: Part 1:2000.

WARNING — SMOKE ALARMS MAY GIVE YOU A WARNING OF FIRE AND
SMOKE, BUT ONLY IF YOU SITE, USE, AND MAINTAIN THEM IN ACCOR­DANCE WITH THESE INSTRUCTIONS. THEY DO NOT SENSE HEAT, FLAME,
OR GAS.

2. WHAT SMOKE ALARMS WILL NOT DO:

A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT POWER. Your Smoke Alarm
needs a good battery that is installed correctly to work. A Smoke Alarm will
not work if its battery is missing, dead, or put in wrong.
A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT SENSE A FIRE WHEN THE SMOKE CANNOT
REACH THE ALARM. If a fire starts in a chimney, wall, roof, the other side of
a closed door, or any other isolated area, the Smoke Alarm may not sense
the smoke and will not give warning. If you do not have an alarm in the bed­room, and sleep with the door closed, a fire inside the bedroom may not
sound the alarm located in another room. Therefore, a Smoke Alarm must
be placed both inside and outside all bedrooms. A SMOKE ALARM WILL
NOT PROMPTLY SENSE A FIRE EXCEPT IN THE AREA OR ROOM IN WHICH
THE SMOKE ALARM IS LOCATED. FOR EXAMPLE:

1

PLEASE READ AND SAVE

INSTALLER: Please leave this manual with the product.

© 2006 Invensys Controls Americas 110-1193

Model A, B, C

Ionisation

Model PB

Optical

Printed in

U.S.A.

USER’S
MANUAL

110-1193 English 8/3/06 12:38 PM Page 1

A) A SMOKE ALARM MAY NOT SENSE A FIRE ON ANOTHER LEVEL OF A
RESIDENCE OR BUILDING. A second-floor Smoke Alarm may not detect a
fire on the first floor of a building. Therefore, Smoke Alarms must be sited on
every floor or level of your home or building.

B) IF THE SMOKE ALARM IS LOCATED ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL THAN THE
BEDROOMS, OR ISOLATED AREA OF THE HOUSE OR RESIDENCE, IT IS
LESS LIKELY TO WAKE UP PEOPLE SLEEPING IN THE BEDROOMS.

ALL TYPES OF SMOKE ALARMS HAVE LIMITATIONS. ANY OF THE PARTS OF
THE SMOKE ALARM COULD FAIL AT ANY TIME — YOU MUST TEST YOUR
SMOKE ALARM WEEKLY TO ENSURE PROPER OPERATION. NO TYPE OF
SMOKE ALARM CAN SENSE EVERY KIND OF FIRE OR SMOKE EVERY TIME.

Ionization Smoke Alarms are your best overall choice for reliability and fast
response time (NFP Research Foundation in the U.S.A. and U.S. Fire
Administration Data) since they quickly sense small invisible smoke
particles and also sense large visible smoke particles.

Photoelectric Smoke Alarms may respond faster in certain types of fires
such as slow, smoldering fires with large visible smoke particles. For
additional protection, the NFPA and the U.S.A. recommends the use of
multiple Smoke Alarms and heat detectors.

You should use both battery powered and direct wired 230 volt AC powered
Smoke Alarms. Since A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT WORK WITHOUT
POWER, having alarms that work from two different power sources can give
you extra protection in case of a dead battery or a mains power failure.

Using an ionisation type Smoke Alarm in a kitchen with inadequate ventilation,
or in a high humidity area near a shower can cause false alarms. DO NOT
REMOVE YOUR BATTERY TO QUIET THE ALARM. DO NOT TAKE THE ALARM
DOWN. DO NOT SHUT OFF THE POWER TO THE ALARM. IF YOU HAVE A
FALSE ALARM, TRY WAVING A TOWEL NEAR THE ALARM TO CLEAR THE
SENSING CHAMBER. A SMOKE ALARM WILL NOT HELP PROTECT YOU IF IT
IS NOT POWERED, OR THE UNIT IS REMOVED. An ionisation type Smoke
Alarm with a FALSE ALARM CONTROL feature or a photoelectric type Smoke
Alarm should be used to minimize these nuisance alarms.

A SMOKE ALARM MAY NOT ALWAYS WARN YOU ABOUT FIRES CAUSED
BY CARELESSNESS OR SAFETY HAZARDS LIKE SMOKING IN BED, VIOLENT
EXPLOSIONS, ESCAPING GAS, IMPROPER STORAGE OF FLAMMABLE
MATERIALS, OVER-LOADED ELECTRICAL CIRCUITS, NATURAL CAUSES
SUCH AS LIGHTNING, CHILDREN PLAYING WITH MATCHES, AND ARSON.
Fire prevention is your best safeguard.

Siting Smoke Alarms may make you eligible for lower insurance rates, but
SMOKE ALARMS ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR INSURANCE. Homeowners
and renters alike should continue to insure their lives and properties.

3. WHERE YOU SHOULD SITE SMOKE ALARMS:

It is recommended to achieve complete coverage protection by siting a
smoke alarm in every room of your home. Site smoke alarms in accordance
to all applicable laws, regulations, standards, and codes.

At a minimum, smoke alarms shall be sited outside of each separate sleep­ing area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms and on each additional
storey of the family living unit including basements and excluding crawl
spaces and unfinished attics. Any home requires a minimum of two smoke
alarms.

FOR BEST PROTECTION, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU SITE A
SMOKE ALARM IN EVERY ROOM.

In addition, it is recommended that all smoke alarms be interconnected.

THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WILL HELP YOU SAFELY SITE YOUR
SMOKE ALARMS:

Typical Efficiency Home (Apartment)

• Site a smoke alarm on the ceiling or
wall closest to the sleeping area. Site a
smoke alarm with False Alarm Control
in the kitchen/living area.

Typical Single Storey Home

• Site a smoke alarm on the ceiling
or wall inside each bedroom and in
the hallway outside each separate
sleeping area. If a bedroom area
hallway is more the 9m long, site a
smoke alarm at each end.

2

SLEEPING

AREA

KITCHEN

LIVING

AREA

110-1193 English 8/3/06 12:38 PM Page 2

DINING ROOM KITCHEN

LIVING ROOM

FAMILY ROOM KITCHEN BEDROOM

FIREPLACE

BEDROOM

BEDROOMBEDROOM

BEDROOM

DINING

ROOM

BEDROOM

Typical Two-Storey Home

• Site a smoke alarm on the ceiling or
wall inside each bedroom and in the
hallway outside each separate sleeping
area. If a bedroom area hallway is
more than 9 m long, site a smoke alarm
at each end. Site a smoke alarm at the
top of a first-to-second floor stairwell.

IMPORTANT SMOKE ALARM SITING
AND EXCEPTION INFORMATION:

• Install a smoke alarm as close to the
centre of the ceiling as possible. If this
is not practical, mount no closer than 10
cm from a wall or corner. Also, if local
codes allow, site smoke alarms on
walls, between 10 and 30 cm from
ceiling/wall intersections.

• Site a minimum of two smoke alarms in
every home, not matter how small the
home. Any size home requires fitting a
minimum of two smoke alarms.

• Site a smoke alarm in each room that is
divided by a partial wall (either coming
down from the ceiling at least 20 cm or
coming up from the floor.

• Site smoke alarms on peaked, cathedral, or
gabled ceilings 1 m from the highest point
(measured horizontally).

• Site a smoke alarm in lived-in attics or attics
which house electrical equipment like furnaces,
air conditioners, or heaters.

4. WHERE YOU SHOULD NOT SITE SMOKE ALARMS:

Do not site a Smoke Alarm within close proximity of heating and
cooling supply vents or within close proximity of return or fresh
air vents. Smoke may be blown away from the Smoke Alarm by
the supply vents, or could be diffused or reduced by being divert­ed into the return air vent.

Do not Site you Smoke Alarm in an area where the temperature
may fall below 5°C, or rise above 45°C. Smoke alarms are
designed to work safely only within these temperature ranges,
and failure to alarm, improper alarms, or nuisance alarms may
result from operation outside these temperature limits.

Do not site a Smoke Alarm in a damp or very humid area such as
bathrooms with showers, where the normal humidity may rise
above 93% Relative Humidity. Above this level, moisture may con­dense inside the smoke chamber and cause wrong or false
alarms.

Do not site an ionisation Smoke Alarm in an area where particles
of combustion are normally present, such as kitchens or automo­bile garages. An ionisation type Smoke Alarm with a FALSE
ALARM CONTROL feature or a photoelectric type Smoke Alarm
should be used to minimize nuisance alarms.

Do not site a Smoke Alarm in dusty or dirty areas; SUCH AN
INSTALLATION CANNOT BE RELIED UPON. An accumulation of
dust and dirt in the sensing chamber may block the openings and
prevent an alarm, or may get inside the alarm and cause false
alarms. If a Smoke Alarm is required in such an area, vacuum it
frequently and test it according to section 6.

Do not site a Smoke Alarm in the dead air space in the corner
where the wall meets the ceiling. If in doubt as to the exact alarm
siting, for your safety, contact your local fire brigade for help in
choosing a location.

Do not site a Smoke Alarm where bugs or insects are present
before eliminating or minimizing the bug problem. Although all
Smoke Alarms built since 1986 are made to prevent bugs from
entering the detection chamber, bugs may build up on chamber
openings and prevent smoke from entering. As a result, unit
should be vacuumed frequently as explained in section 7.

Do not site a Smoke Alarm within close proximity of a fluorescent
light. Electrical noise may cause nuisance alarms.

3

Key

•

Smoke Alarm
Smoke Alarm with False Alarm Control

110-1193 English 8/3/06 12:38 PM Page 3

BEDROOM

BEDROOM BEDROOM

LIVING

KITCHEN

ROOM

CEILING

ACCEPTABLE HERE

NEVER HERE

TOP OF DETECTOR
ACCEPTABLE HERE

STUB WALL

10cm

SOFFIT

GARAGE

10cm

MINIMUM

SIDE

WALL

20cm

1m

PEAKED CEILING

30cm

MAXIMUM

1m