It’s not the batteries! Smoke alarm presence and functionality 5-7 years post installation of sealed lithium battery alarms

Smoke alarms with lithium batteries have been marketed as long life or “10 Year Alarms.” Previous work has drawn into question the actual term of functionality for lithium battery alarms. This paper reports on observed smoke alarm presence and functionality in a sample of 158 homes which had participated in a fire department smoke alarm installation program 5-7 years prior to the observations. A total of 394 alarms were originally installed in the 158 homes that completed the revisit. At the time of the revisit, 214 of those alarms were working (54%), 26 were non-working (7%), and 154 were missing (39%). Of the 158 homes that completed the revisit, n=62 (39%) had all their originally installed project alarms up at working at the revisit. Respondents who reported owning their homes and who reported living in their home for 6 or more years were significantly more likely than renters and those living in their homes for 5 or fewer years were more likely to maintain all of their project alarms. Smoke alarm installation programs should consider revisiting homes within 5-7 years post installation to inspect and replace any missing or non-functioning alarms. We recommend programs conducting community risk reduction programs track and plan installations and revisits to improve smoke alarm coverage.

Design and Development of Smoke-Free Homestay Inn in the Post-Pandemic Era

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the tourism industry has been hit hard, especially the homestay inn market has shrunk sharply. In China, people actively implement the Chinese government's relevant policies for pandemic prevention and control, rationally arrange travel, and strictly implement corresponding protective measures. These policies have greatly reduced the number and frequency of people's travel. Before the flu broke out, major holidays, such as the Spring Festival, Mid- Autumn Festival, Winter and Summer vacations, were peak tourist seasons. Now the entire tourist market is in a state of depression. Tourists canceled their travel plans one after anther, which indirectly caused a large number of homestay inns to be unable to operate, and they had no choice but to close their stores to reduce expenses. Under this situation, the problems of the homestay inn industry itself are gradually exposed. The decoration styles of the homestay inn are similar, and the homogeneity is becoming more and more serious. Simple imitating and copying have no characteristics at all. Unclear price and low service quality also reflect management confusion. What's more serious is that some homestays do not have fire-fighting systems such as smoke alarms, and guests smoking in the rooms cause huge safety hazards. With the normalization of COVID-19 prevention and control work, the revival of the homestay inn industry is ushering in. It has become a top priority to improve quality, brand image, and develop its own cultural IP. This article will combine an architectural project in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, to study and explore the design of smoke-free homestay inn. Through the installation of smoke alarm system and fresh air system and other equipment, the circulation of indoor and outdoor air is ensured, and a smoke-free environment is created to ensure the safety and comfort of guests. And combine regional characteristics to deeply explore local culture and its own characteristics, and create a vibrant and creative brand image to meet people's growing spiritual needs.

The effectiveness of adaptive training for stress inoculation in a simulated astronaut task

Astronauts operate in an environment with multiple hazards that can develop into life-threatening emergency situations. Managing stress in emergencies may require cognitive resources and lead to diminishing performance. Stress training aims to maintain performance under stress by methodically increasing stressor levels to build inoculation against stress. An adaptive virtual reality (VR) training system was developed with real-time stress detection by using machine learning on psychophysiological responses. Using a VR simulation of a spaceflight emergency fire, stress classifications were used to trigger adaptations of the VR environmental stressors (e.g., smoke, alarms, flashing lights), with the goal of maintaining a manageable level of stress during training. Fifty-seven healthy subjects underwent task training over eight trials with adaptive training (adaptive, n=19); results were compared to trials with predetermined gradual increases in stressors (graduated, n=18), and with trials with constant low-level stressors (skill-only, n=20). Stress responses were measured through heart rate, heart rate variability (i.e., root mean squared of successive differences (RMSSD), low frequency to high frequency (LF/HF) ratio), and task performance (distance-from-fire). Heart rate decreased and RMSSD increased pre-post training for all experimental conditions. The LF/HF ratio decreased pre-post training for the adaptive condition, but not in the other conditions. Results suggests that all conditions had lower stress, but the adaptive condition was more successful. Task performance showed a marginal increase across trials for the adaptive condition. Preliminary results suggest that training with the adaptive stress system can prepare individuals for responding to stressors better than skill-only and graduated training.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Kuwait: A Five-Year, Retrospective, Epidemiological Study

Background: Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a major public health concern and a common cause of death worldwide. However, to our knowledge, no studies have been conducted on CO poisoning exposure and mortality in Kuwait. Objectives: Using epidemiological and forensic data analysis, we investigated the prevalence and characteristics of CO poisoning-associated deaths in Kuwait over five years (2014–2018), using official police data. Methods: The Forensic Toxicology Laboratory analyzed 203 blood specimens of deceased individuals for potential CO poisoning during the study period. We obtained demographic information of the deceased and other information regarding the source of the CO, the type of death and the seasonal and geographical distribution of fatalities. The percentage of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb%) was assessed using a CO-oximeter. Results: CO poisoning was confirmed in ~29% (59 cases) of the analyzed specimens, of which CO poisoning was accidental in the majority of cases (~95%) and homicidal in the remaining of cases (~5%), with no reported suicides. The five-year cumulative mean of COHb% in the blood specimens of the 59 confirmed cases was ~63%. Most of the deceased were males (~68%). The mean age of male and female victims per year were similar (~23–38 years). Fatalities were more common (~44%) during the winter (December–February). Uncontrolled home fires and coal stoves contributed to the primary sources of CO poisoning at 61% and 22%, respectively. Recommendations: Based on our findings, we propose that the local government should mandate the installation of smoke alarms and CO detectors in residential settings and endorse health education, informing the local population about the causes of fire and potential for CO poisoning, with an emphasis on prevention. Practical measures that can be applied include proper installation and regular maintenance of home-heating appliances and appropriate ventilation. The present study could greatly benefit the government in directing efforts toward decreasing CO poisoning incidents in Kuwait in the future.

Research Roundup: Paley’s Practice: Storytelling, Story Acting, and Early Learning

In the early years, children’s librarians traditionally lit a candle at the beginning of each storytime. The altered atmosphere helped transport children mentally to a land of stories. The candle was blown out at the end of the session, bringing them back to the library. Although this tradition has not endured (due perhaps to the invention of smoke alarms), storytelling remains an effective tool that can be used by librarians.

A Framework for Analyzing Residential Fire Outcomes in Homes with Operative Smoke Alarms

Operative smoke alarms have been shown to be effective in reducing home-fire fatalities, but there remain incidents in which injuries and death occur despite the presence of a working smoke alarm. The present work presents a scientifically-guided framework for evaluating the outcomes of such incidents from the perspective of human factors and, specifically, the warnings communication process. It considers the roles of environmental, individual, and situational factors in occupants’ detection, noticing, and processing of smoke alarms, as well as the behaviors produced in response. Such factors include the acoustic environment in which the alarm sounds, the occupants’ cognitive state and focus of attention, the occupants’ developmental and physical abilities, and the situational circumstances in which a response is chosen and executed. The synthesis of these findings provides one methodology for understanding real-world outcomes of fires, as well as informing development and evaluation of countermeasures for improving residential fire fatality rates.