Underwriters Laboratories Inc. held a Standards Technical Panel meeting on March 7 at its Northbrook, Ill., headquarters to discuss issues relating to why some children might not awaken when a smoke alarm sounds.

The issue received national attention in November after television stations in Milwaukee and Fort Worth, Texas, coordinated demonstrations with local families and fire departments to gauge the effectiveness of fire evacuation plans.

Reporters were surprised to find that some children slept soundly through activated smoke alarms. As a result of the meeting, the panel set up two ad hoc working groups. The first, composed of pediatric sleep experts, safety engineers, government officials and manufacturers, will gather information and make proposals for future research designed to better understand the physiological and technical aspects of the issue. The information the group gathers is expected to lead to new research that could provide the basis for changes to the way smoke alarms operate and the way in which they are installed and used.

The second working group, composed of members from UL, the NFPA, fire prevention and education specialists and manufacturers, will develop educational and publicity campaigns to raise public awareness of smoke alarm and fire safety issues.

Both groups will report their findings back to the panel by May 30.

“Based on what we heard from pediatric sleep experts and fire prevention officials, there might not be a single answer to this complicated issue,” said John Drengenberg, UL's manager of consumer affairs and moderator for the discussion. “It seems clear, however, that some children, especially young children, may at times sleep so deeply that it may not be possible for the alarm alone to arouse them to the point where they can reliably evacuate a house on their own. If, and until, a technological solution can be found, public education on the issue will be a pressing concern for the fire safety community.”