County improves its smoke detector/pizza promo

Smoke detectors are not all created equal. A detector test conducted by the Hook with assistance from local fire officials revealed in June that ionization models may not activate until it's too late to escape.
FILE PHOTO BY JEN FARIELLO

Last week, the Albemarle County Fire Department announced a smoke detector promotion in which anyone ordering pizza from Domino's Pizza on Seminole Trail on Tuesday, October 7 between 4 and 7pm will receive a free pizza if a firefighter riding along with the delivery driver determines all smoke detectors in a customer's residence are functioning. If any of the detectors aren't working, the customer pays for the pie but gets a free detector.

There was just one problem with the creative promotion: the department made no mention of the type of detector that should to be present in order to receive the free pie.

Not anymore!

At the Hook's request, says Albemarle Fire Inspector Joseph Gould, the department will now not only check if the detectors are functioning but will also identify the type of detector. Homes equipped with battery operated ionization detectors, even if they function, will be offered the combination detectors that are supplied through the county's free detector program. Residents of homes with hardwired ionization models will be educated on the need to replace their detectors.

As the Hook has reported on extensively, ionization detectors– the type found in at least 90 percent

of American homes– are actually flame detectors and, in our test, appeared woefully inadequate at detecting the smoke from a smoldering fire, the type of fire most likely to kill people while they're sleeping at night. The other type, photoelectric detectors, are fastest at detecting smoldering smoke and are have the added benefit of being less prone to false alarms, which are the leading cause of people disabling their detectors.

Both the city and county currently distribute combination detectors utilizing both ionization and photoelectric technology. That's the type endorsed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and Gould and other local fire officials believe it offers the best possible protection. Critics of the combination technology– including the International Association of Fire Fighters– endorse photoelectric technology alone and say combos are better than ionization alone but are still prone to nuisance alarms.