Fires are insidious: it’s not even the fire itself that causes death, but the smoke. Even worse, our sense of smell doesn’t work when we’re asleep, so a fire is often a nasty surprise. Fortunately, smoke detectors are designed to detect smoke particles reliably and quickly. Depending on the country, the law may even dictate that you have at least one smoke detector in your home. Whether required or not, having one in your home could mean the difference between life or death.