Everyone in your home should be able to hear the smoke detector alarm, even with bedroom doors closed. If not, or if any residents are hearing-impaired, install additional detectors inside bedrooms. For extra protection, addition smoke detector may be installed in dining rooms, furnace room, utility room and hallways. Most home fires start in the living areas, den, family room, or living room. Smoke detectors should not be placed in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, or unheated spaces where cooking fumes, steam, exhaust or high temperatures might cause false alarms.
Smoke rises, thus mount detectors high on a wall or on the ceiling.
A wall-mounted unit should be 4 to 12 inches from the ceiling. A ceiling-mounted detector should be at least 4 inches from the nearest wall. In a room with a pitched ceiling, mount the detector on or near the ceiling's highest point. In open stairways with no door at the top or bottom, position the smoke detector anywhere in the path of smoke moving up the stairs. Position smoke detectors at the bottom of enclosed stairways, such as those leading to the basement.