• Fire errupting within a buildingSmoke image by Vasiliy Koval from Fotolia.com
  
  Smoke detectors are helpful to your family and loved ones when a fire begins. You could be sleeping or in another part of the house unable to see or smell the smoke until it is too late. Requirements set forth by the National Electric Code state specific regulations for your home, depending on how many stories you have. It is important to note, however, that each state may have additional requirements that should be examined when purchasing, selling or building a home.
  
  

Unfinished Walls and Ceilings

• Per National Electric Code (NEC) 2002, it is required in buildings where the walls or ceilings are not finished and are under construction that the alarm be hardwired into a circuit breaker. This ensures that the removable alarm most commonly used will not fall off or become damaged during renovations or construction. If an electrician is installing wiring in a building, and the smoke alarm is dropped and broken, there would not be an advanced warning against a fire.
  
  

Occupied Living Spaces

• Buildings are required to have one smoke detector per level of habitable space. It is not required that a smoke detector be in an attic or crawl space that is not occupied by people as a living space. However, it is required that the basement or cellar of a building be provided with a smoke detector. These detectors could be hard wired to the breaker box for more security, although they are allowed to be battery operated.
  
  

Bedrooms

• As well as placing a smoke detector on each level, there should be one in each room used for sleeping. If you have three children who have their own rooms, even on the same level, there should be a smoke detector in each bedroom. For added protection, it is also recommended that the alarms be hard wired to one another so when one activates, the others will follow.