Where to put smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
Smoke alarms are the reason most people wake up in time to use their escape plan. But an alarm in the wrong spot can sound late, or go off every time someone makes toast until someone pulls the battery. Here is where they go.
Smoke alarms: where they go
- Inside every bedroom.
- Outside each sleeping area, in the hallway that leads to the bedrooms.
- On every level of the home, including the basement. On a level without bedrooms, put it in the living room or near the stairs.
Mount them on the ceiling, or high on a wall within about 4 to 12 inches of the ceiling. Keep them away from places that cause false alarms: about 10 feet from the stove, and away from bathroom doors where shower steam escapes, and from air vents and ceiling fans that blow smoke away.
Carbon monoxide alarms: where they go
Carbon monoxide comes from anything that burns fuel: a gas stove, water heater, or furnace, a fireplace, or a car in an attached garage. If your home has any of those, you need CO alarms.
- Outside each sleeping area, close to the bedroom doors. Florida law, for example, requires one within 10 feet of each bedroom in newer homes with fuel-burning appliances or an attached garage.
- On every level of the home is a good rule.
- Follow the manufacturer’s mounting directions; combination smoke and CO alarms are fine.
Testing and replacing
- Test every alarm once a month with the test button.
- Replace smoke alarms every 10 years, counting from the date printed on the back, even if they still beep.
- Replace CO alarms when the manufacturer says, usually every 5 to 10 years; many chirp at end of life.
- Replace batteries yearly in alarms that use replaceable ones. Sealed 10-year battery alarms skip this, and are required for new battery-only smoke alarms in Florida.
Put them on your plan
When you draw your home in FireEscapePlan.com, you mark each smoke and CO alarm. The plan checks the placement for you and flags a bedroom without a smoke alarm, or a bedroom door too far from a CO alarm, and the alarms appear on your printed escape map.
Free for your home. Draw it, check it, and print it in minutes.
Sources
- NFPA escape planning tips (City of Sterling Heights handout)
- Red Cross: Fire safety equipment
- Florida Statute 553.885 (carbon monoxide alarms)
- Rapid Eye Inspections: Florida smoke and CO detector requirements for vacation rentals
Guides are general information to help you prepare, not legal advice or an inspection. Your local fire marshal, building department, or licensing agency decides what applies to your property. See the disclaimer.