Use and Misuse of Smoke Detectors in Residential Areas

This study examined the use and misuse of home smoke detectors in three cities in the United States: Dayton, Ohio, Union City, New Jersey, and San Francisco, California. A sample of 300 households, 100 in each city, were reached in telephone interviews which were concluded with a request to test the smoke detector. For the sample, 86% had a smoke detector, and 73% of those smoke detectors were working. Neither the presence of children or whether the smoke detector was preinstalled or purchased and installed by the homeowner were associated with the likelihood of owning a smoke detector or its operating condition. However, ownership varied between cities; 98% of respondents owned detectors in Dayton, OH compared to 72% in San Francisco, CA. Belief that smoke detectors were in good operating condition was strongly correlated with their actual state. Whether the detector was maintained in-house and the interaction between city and whether it was purchased by the resident were also significantly related to whether a smoke detector was working.

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