Your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors quietly decide how much time you have to escape a fire, yet the tiny date code that tells you whether they still work is easy to miss. That code is usually ...

When you move into or buy a new home, no one hands you a guide to how the smoke detectors work. They "chirp," which really means shriek loudly, and you occasionally have to put new batteries in them.

The first time most people hear the quiet chirp of a smoke detector in the dead of winter, it feels like a minor nuisance. It’s easy to press a finger to the base, silence the sound and carry on. But ...

The only way to know your smoke alarm is functioning and ready (except for letting your turkey burn in the oven) is to test it. And tests don't just confirm that smoke detectors have power -- they can ...