Some smoke detectors are more effective than others

Many times, the first line of defense in protecting your family from a house fire is having a smoke detector.

But, the one you may have in your home might not be doing as good of a job as you may think.

The most commonly used smoke detectors are ionization detectors which are triggered by “heavy” smoke and fast moving fires.

Wilmington Fire Captain, Tom Robinson says a photoelectric smoke detector may be even more effective.

A photoelectric detector is more sensitive to smoke particles in the air, which in some cases can buy you more time escape danger.

Robinson said, “These detectors seem to operate about seven minutes quicker than the ionization style detectors so it’s going to alert you sooner — less smoke area so you can get out ahead of the fire, and get out of there a lot quicker.”

The Wilmington Professional Fire Fighters Association is in the midst of a phone-call fund raiser, soliciting residents for donations.

Money collected will help provide photoelectric detectors to the elderly and low-income families.