[Editor's Note: In July 2010, Albany became the first California
city to require photoelectric-only smoke alarms. Read the full
story here.] Currently, there is great confusion regarding the
topic of smoke alarms. There are two types of smoke alarms used
to protect residents in the event of a fire; photoelectric and
ionization smoke alarms - both respond differently to smoke and
flame. Ionization smoke alarms react poorly to deadly smoke but
faster to flames while photoelectric alarms react much faster to
smoke. Ionization alarms are present in more than 95 percent of
homes in America and have a high failure rate when it comes to
detecting smoke. The problem is, most deadly fires are
smoldering fires and not fast flaming fires. By now, most people
understand it is deadly smoke and heat that kills you before the
flames even reach you. Ionization alarms should be labeled flame
alarms and not smoke alarms. An example of a fast flaming fire
would be a Christmas tree fire, which certainly have claimed
their share