Firefighters are often asked to speak to school and community groups about the importance of fire safety, particularly fire prevention and detection. Because smoke detectors reduce the risk of dying in a fire by half, firefighters often give audiences information on how to install these protective devices at home.

Specifically, they tell them: a smoke detector should be placed on each floor of a home. Because sleeping people are in particular danger from an emergent fire, there must be a detector outside each sleeping area; a good site is a hallway that runs between living spaces and bedrooms. Because of the dead-air space that might be missed by turbulent hot air bouncing around above a fire, smoke detectors should be installed either on the ceiling at least four inches from the nearest wall, or high on a wall at least four but no further than twelve inches from the ceiling.

Detectors should not be mounted near windows, exterior doors, or other places where drafts might direct the smoke away from the unit. Nor should they be placed in kitchens and garages, where cooking and gas fumes are likely to cause false alarms.