Development of the Smoke Detector

The Beginning

• In 1890, inventors Francis Upton and Fernando Dibble created an improved portable electric fire-alarm. Using a battery, bell, buzzer, magnet and thermostatic device, their invention sounded an alarm when a building reached a certain predetermined temperature. Although there were general temperature-based fire alarms at this time, this was the first of its kind to operate apart from the city's fire alarm system. Upton and Dibble intended it for use in vacated buildings used for storage or in buildings out of the reach of the local fire department.

  It is said that George Andrew Darby, an engineer in England, constructed the forerunner to the modern smoke detector in 1902. He created a device consisting of two plates separated by a block of butter; if the temperature rose to a certain point and the butter melted, the two plates would connect, closing an electrical circuit and sounding an alarm. However, even if this story were true, Upton and Dibble's invention preceded it by 12 years.

The Smoke Alarm

• In 1930, Swiss physicist Walter Jaeger attempted to create a mechanism to identify poisonous gas. His hope was that gas would bind to ionized air upon entering the mechanism. That would alter the electrical current in the sensor, triggering a reaction. Jaeger's experiment failed, but when he lit a cigarette afterward, he noticed that the meter showed a drop in electrical current. This discovery allowed for more advancements in fire alarm technology, so that by the mid-1960s most major businesses and public buildings were equipped with smoke alarms.

The Battery-Powered Smoke Detector

• Duane Pearsall invented an affordable version of the smoke detector in 1967. This sensor was battery powered, easily installed and quickly replaced. By 1969, BRK Electronics created the first battery-powered smoke detector to get a UL listing demonstrating the reliability and safety of the product. As production grew, so did quality and affordability. Throughout the 1970s BRK Electronics sold its new products extensively in new homes and commercial buildings.

Marketing the Smoke Detector

• Sears, Roebuck and Co. formed a partnership with BRK Electronics in 1974, added their name to the smoke alarm and started selling the product in their stores. It was immensely popular, leading more competitors into the market and allowing for more developments with the alarm itself. The First Alert brand was introduced in 1976, and this soon became the most well- known name in home smoke detection.

Modern Smoke Detectors

• Today smoke detectors are used in almost all homes and businesses in America. They use optical detection, often called photoelectric, or physical process, often called ionization, to detect the presence of smoke and alert the building's inhabitants. Many smoke detectors are also connected to security or notification systems for added safety.