Those of us who dwell in big-city apartments face a real dilemma when it comes to fire and carbon monoxide alarms: how to find an alarm that picks up on real dangers but doesn't go off every time we use the stove.
A few months ago I installed a combination fire and carbon monoxide alarm in my apartment. To my frustration, the alarm went off every time I cooked! So I turned it off with the intention of replacing it with something better.
Meanwhile, my mother came over cooked something in my kitchen while I was out. Unfortunately, the gas on my stove was still on. This is an easy mistake for any of us to make: you think you've turned off the stove, the flame is gone, but the gas is still going.
When I came home the apartment was filled with gas. Fortunately, carbon monoxide has an odor so I knew right away! But what if this had happened while I was at home? Gas can fill your apartment slowly and you may not notice until you've already inhaled quite a bit.
What's the solution?
Separate the fire alarm from the carbon monoxide alarm. Companies like First Alert have been improving their photoelectric sensing technology, so their alarms quickly pick up on slow, smoldering fires but not on the innocent steaming broccoli on the stove. I decided to install a First Alert Smoke Alarm with Photoelectric Sensor.
Then I'll separately install a First Alert Battery Powered Carbon Monoxide Alarm. That should do it -- I'll feel a lot safer, now.
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