Fire-Alarm Testing Tools

Aerosal Smoke Spray

• The main way to determine if there's a fire is by detecting smoke. Even small levels of smoke can indicate dangerous fire conditions. The ability of a home fire alarm to register smoke depends on the cleanliness of the vents -- which should be vacuumed or cleaned every month. The sensor inside also needs to be operable. Test this feature without lighting a fire. A smoke-detector aerosol spray can safely check the viability of the home sensor with ease. The spray works on photoelectric- and ionization-type fire systems, both available in home models.

Heat Tester

• It might seem that a match or lighter would be all that's needed to test for the fire alarm's sensitivity to heat, but these methods can be dangerous in your home. They also do not provide heat in the range that is likely to set off the alarm. Testing used to be done with heat guns or blow dryers to simulate the heat of a fire, but these methods aren't precise. The temperature sensitivity of an alarm is as important as the detecting ability of smoke -- because some fires are nearly smokeless; therefore, heat would be the only indicator. Heat-detector testers are portable pads that use saline to heat up. They can test a range of temperatures and operate quickly and efficiently. Professionals use these, and they also offer superior testing ability for the home system.

Test Magnet

• Some home fire alarms have a magnet test area to activate and test the detector. The use of the test magnet is simple. Hold the test magnet to the magnet test area on the unit. An alarm will go off and the test magnet will display an LED status light to let you know if the unit is fully operational. The magnet test gauges the functionality of the unit, not the sensitivity. It does not replace smoke or heat testing, but is used in conjunction with them.

Extendable Wand

• In really large buildings so many fire alarms exist to test and service that a maintenance person would be taxed by the chore. The units are usually on the ceiling, which can be too high to access safely. In the home, they may be located on cathedral ceilings or other high places where ladders aren't practical. There are telescoping wands available with gripping ends that can migrate the testing method up to the fire alarm without endangering the person who is testing. The wands are effective to move the testing method within the prescribed distance and avoid dangerous ladders.