His name is Bernie--
which is fitting, because he starts fires for some
of the tests he conducts.
Bernie, what was that?
It looks so dangerous.
Don't worry, Jack.
It's all very safe.
It's a controlled test.
I'm testing smoke detectors.
Bernie, that is so cool.
That seems like a very important test for consumers.
It's incredibly important.
These are devices that have to work.
It's not like a toaster.
Your life may depend on this thing actually detecting smoke.
One couple who knows this all too well
are the Berman's in California.
It was really loud, and I was totally confused
to what was going on.
And I didn't even smell smoke initially.
Tracy did smell the smoke, but it took me all the way
until I saw fire to realize there was a fire.
I was in shock and terrified.
I mean, my girls were closer to the fire than we were.
So if the smoke detector had not gone off,
it would have been a very different story.
Did you know that there's two different types of fire?
No, I thought there was only one.
No, there's the open flame and smoky, smoldering fires.
So there's different types of detectors.
Oh, that's so interesting.
Yeah.
So you want to see how we test it?
Yeah, I'd love to.
Come in.
All right.
This is a special room where we test anything
that detects particles in air.
And it has its own ventilation system
so that I don't disturb the rest of the building
when I create smoke.
Got it.
So I've noticed you have two smoke detectors here.
What's the difference between them?
Photoelectric and ionization.
So the photoelectric detector uses light.
Light is passed through a chamber.
As smoke enters the chamber, it reduces the amount of light
that goes through the chamber, and that detector
will alarm when that happens.
A photoelectric detector is great at detecting
the large particles from a smoky fire,
and it's less prone to false alarms
from something like burnt toast, so it's better
to have that near the kitchen.
An ionization detector detects the small particles
that come off of a fast flaming fire.
They're not as good at a smoky fire.
But you don't want to mount these near your kitchen
or bathroom, so that you don't get false alarms.
So this detects smoky fires.
This detects flaming fires.
Oh, I see.
Now, is there one detector that combines both?
It's called a dual sensor detector.
And that's what we recommend, because you never
know what kind of fire you're going to have in your home.
Bernie, can we do another test?
Absolutely.
So what we're going to do is fill up this chimney
with shredded paper.
I shred 10 sheets of paper.
That way, I get a consistent fire
so that I'm testing them under the same conditions every time.
All right, all done.
Now the final step before we do this test.
Yeah.
You got to leave.
Why?
It's a dangerous test.
I don't want to harm any possibility of hurting you.
I understand.
OK, I've got a timer going.
Timing the alarm.
When the fire dies, you'll see a big puff of smoke.
[SMOKE DETECTOR ALARM]
That's it.
The test is over.
That took 20 seconds for that alarm to go off.
And Bernie tells me that's a good response time.
So Bernie, I've seen at the stores
these smoke detectors that have a carbon monoxide feature.
Should I buy that?
If you have any sort of fuel burning appliance like a gas
stove or an oil furnace or a fireplace,
or an attached garage where your car might be running,
it's a good idea to have a carbon monoxide detector,
because you can't smell it.
And you fall asleep and never wake up.
There are detectors that will detect carbon monoxide, fire,
and smoke, all three-in-one unit,
but we haven't tested any that do a good job at all three.
So our recommendation is get two separate detectors, one
for carbon monoxide and one, a dual sensor
that detects fire and smoke.
Bernie, I've been learning a lot about smart homes
as of late, with smart doorbells and security systems.
Is there a good smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector?
Of course.
There are plenty of options.
You can find some that will connect with your home security
system if you have an installed security system.
You can have them where they connect through Wi-Fi
to the internet and see the status on an app on your phone.
That's cool.
And there are also smart listeners
that will detect the sound that your existing smoke
alarms will make when they go off that will notify you.
Are there any privacy concerns when it
comes to smart smoke detectors?
As with any smart internet-connected device,
you definitely want to handle a strong password.
You want to update whatever app you're using with it,
and you want to update the device's firmware, as well.
OK, so where should I put a smoke detector in my own home?
Well, you need more than a smoke detector.
My home has 10 different smoke detectors.
10.
That's right.
You need to have a smoke detector in every bedroom,
in the hallway outside the bedroom,
on every level of your home, including a finished
attic, if you have that, in the living room,
in the utility room, in your basement,
and near an attached garage.
Your detectors have to work, so that means
you have to maintain them, too.
How do I do that?
A lot of them are battery powered.
Some are electrically powered with battery backup.
So you have to make sure that the batteries
are replaced at least once a year,
even if they're electrically powered.
And when you're doing that, you have
to make sure that you have the new battery in.
You can't just take out the old battery
and say oh, I'm going to put a new one in tomorrow.
Because it could be that night that you
need an alarm to go off.
But what if a fire happens right in front of your eyes?
You don't need a smoke detector, you need a fire extinguisher.
[SNAP]