Optimizing Emergency Awakening to Audible Smoke Alarms: an update

Abstract

This review examines research on what types of emergency signal will be the best to awaken most individuals and what can be improved. Four key areas are reviewed: (a) the characteristics of four signals; (b) how human characteristics alter arousal to different signals; (c) research comparing the effectiveness of different alarms in different sleeping populations; and (d) acoustical, methodological and theoretical implications