Kidde’s mission is to protect people and property from fire and its related hazards. We strongly support developing fire safety products based on an independent performance standard, and stand by the comprehensive studies performed over the last three (3) decades showing the benefits of both photoelectric and ionization smoke alarm technologies.
Banning or endorsing a ban against single-station ionization smoke alarms goes against the recommendations of virtually every nationally recognized fire authority and leading consumer experts. The National Fire Protection Association, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM), National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Consumers Union and the Home Safety Council all recommend having both photoelectric and ionization alarms for optimal protection against flaming and smoldering fires.
Kidde supports and states this recommendation on its packaging, website and in its owner's manuals. Kidde offers photoelectric smoke alarms, ionization smoke alarms and dual-sensor alarms that combine both technologies in one unit.
Regardless of technology, smoke alarms must pass identical tests in order to meet the current smoke alarm performance standard, UL 217. This standard was created by representatives from national and independent research organizations dedicated to testing products and protecting the consumer, and tests alarms in both flaming and smoldering conditions. Consumers should have the option to choose any technology that meets UL 217, and versions of both photoelectric and ionization alarms do.
Any change to the standard should be based on factual and scientific data. The experts behind UL 217 have rejected proposals to prohibit single-station ionization smoke alarms because of the lack of credible scientific data to support it. An NFPA task group (convened specifically to study this issue) concluded in February 2008 that smoke alarms using either ionization or photoelectric technologies generally provide acceptable response to smoldering fires. A 2004 NIST study on photoelectric and ionization smoke alarms found that both technologies are effective in providing adequate escape time to occupants in "real-life" home fire conditions.
In addition, banning a proven technology can limit innovation that may advance residential fire safety. Smoke alarm technology is likely to change dramatically in the future, and laws that require only one technology or restrict the use of another reduce the ability to offer consumers new, innovative alarms.
Residential smoke alarms have helped to cut the number of home fire fatalities nearly in half since the mid-70s, and the vast majority of the alarms installed have used ionization technology. Prohibiting a technology that’s proven to save lives would limit the protection options for families.
Regardless of an alarm’s technology, a home that does not have the proper number of working smoke alarms is still underprotected. Kidde urges that families have working smoke alarms on each floor, outside of sleeping areas and inside each bedroom. Families must also know what to do when the alarm sounds.