Smoke Alarms play a key role in early detection of home structure fires. Annually there are 357,000 home fires in the United States. These fires result in an average of 2,470 civilian deaths, 12,890 civilian injuries, and $6.9 billion in direct property damage each year. Working in coordination with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), we researched aspects of this problem with the focus of identifying whether a performance based rating system for smoke alarms would be beneficial to consumers in order to get better performing and safer smoke alarms into consumers’ homes. We made recommendations to the CPSC on how to continue studying consumers, smoke alarms, and to look into a performance based rating system and a features list.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Bennett, Tyler Jordan
• Baker, Everett Vincent
• Mosteller, James Jarlath
• Williams, John V.

Subject

• Security
• Community
• Industry
• Well-Being

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-121715-113913

Keyword

• Fire prevention
• Fire protection engineering

Award

• President's IQP Award

Advisor

• Looft, Fred J.
• Servatius, Brigitte

Year

• 2015

Center

• Washington, DC Project Center - IQP

Sponsor

• United States Consumer Product Safety Commission

Date created

• 2015-12-17

Location

• Washington

Resource type

• Interactive Qualifying Project

Rights statement

• In Copyright

Last modified

• 2023-01-18