Right at the beginning: The most dangerous myths about

not to buy a smoke detector:

1. "If there's a fire, I have more than 10 minutes to leave the apartment."

Wrong! On average, they only have four minutes to escape.
Smoke poisoning can be fatal after just 2 minutes.

2. "My neighbors or my pets will alert me in time."

Wrong! That's not possible in 2 minutes. Especially at night,
when your neighbors are sleeping and the pets are not in your bedroom.

3. "If you pay attention, you're safe from fire."

Wrong! Electrical defects are often the cause of fires. Fires in neighbors' homes are also common.
or even arson are not your fault.

4. "Stone houses don't burn."

Wrong! Maybe not the masonry, but everything else. And as described below
Plastics, such as your armchairs, produce toxic smoke.

5. "Smoke detectors are too expensive."

Wrong! They are the best means of prevention in private households.
You should ask yourself how much your life is worth to you!

Facts and figures on fire risk in Germany:

With 200,000 fires per year, approximately:

- 600 people killed

- 6,000 people seriously injured

- 60,000 people slightly injured

• 75% of all fire deaths are caused by smoke inhalation, not by the fire itself.

• 80% of all fire deaths occur in the home, not at work.

• 2/3 of all fire victims are surprised at night while they are sleeping.

• You can insure yourself against property damage (over 1 billion euros in the private sector per year).

Protect your life with a smoke detector!

Smoke poisoning - Why is fire smoke so

dangerous?:

While one can usually escape the visible and, in the initial phase, localized fire, the more silent smoke attacks its victims in a flash and leaves them hardly a chance.
Over the past 20 years, the number of fatal smoke poisoning cases has quadrupled, as fires become increasingly smoky. This is due to the use of plastics, which are widely used in buildings.
• A burning plastic telephone can fill a single-family home with smoke in a very short time.
• A 10 kg foam rubber mattress, e.g. from a child's bed, produces 25,000 m³ (about 30 single-family houses) of smoke.

While smoke used to consist primarily of soot particles, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, these toxic substances are now only the "basic components." Materials such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), from which many household items, packaging, etc. are made, produce highly toxic gases when burned.

• 5000 toxic substances that fire smoke can contain are now known. For example,
• Acetone, acetaldehyde and ether have an anesthetic effect and cause nausea and vomiting.
• Formaldehyde irritates the eyes and makes breathing difficult.
• Crotonaldehyde causes glottic edema, in which the larynx suddenly swells. In most cases, only an immediate laryngeal incision can prevent death by suffocation.
• Fires involving PVC flooring can produce phosgene, one of the most destructive chemical weapons ever developed by mankind. This destroys the lining of the lungs, causing them to fill with lymph fluid. The victim drowns in their own bodily fluids.
Therefore, the term "warfare agent" in the title is not an exaggeration. Many plastics, paints, etc., are made from chlorine. In fires, chlorine, which is an irritant gas in itself, is easily released and can form new compounds, e.g.
• Mustard gas, cyanogen chloride
• Hydrogen chloride (together with water produces corrosive hydrochloric acid.)
• Tear gases CN and CS

Another danger is the widely used polystyrene. If incompletely burned, polystyrene releases the gas styrene, which attacks the central nervous system.

How a smoke detector works

Most smoke detectors work on the scattered light principle. A diode emits light beams into the so-called smoke chamber. When smoke enters the chamber, the light beams are reflected by the smoke particles and directed to a sensor, which triggers the alarm.