Standard fire detectors often give false alarms when there is smoke but no fire, such as when food burns. This leads some to remove the batteries or to unplug the detector, which puts lives at risk. Engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have a solution for this problem: a detector that uses sensors to detect heat and not just smoke. With these sensors, the new detector is smart enough to distinguish between burned food and an actual fire. It can also detect slow-burning fires up to 30 minutes sooner than older detectors, sense carbon monoxide, and alert at a lower frequency that is more effective at waking children and the elderly.
Luedeka Neely is proud to represent ORNL.
http://www.wsmv.com/story/22914073/tn-engineers-working-on-new-type-of-smoke-detector