 You and your loved ones may be seriously burned, injured or die in a fire if you don't have smoke alarms in your home, if they're not installed in the right locations or if the batteries have been removed. Smoke alarms are made to alert you before the air becomes too toxic for you to escape. Toxins in the smoke irritate the eyes, nose and throat. These toxins also stop oxygen from being absorbed in your lungs. You will find it hard to breathe and see. You will not be able to think clearly, so you will make bad decisions and may not be able to escape in time. Fires can spread to other rooms within two to three minutes, but a fire may burn for some time before a smoke alarm beeps, so you will have even less time to escape. Working smoke alarms in the right locations allow you more time to escape. You are at highest risk from fire when you are sleeping. Many people think they will wake up when there is a fire, but they are wrong. Most people who die in fires are found on or next to their bed. During sleep you lose your sense of smell, so smoke won't wake you up. Carbon monoxide in the smoke, also known as the silent killer, will put you into a deeper sleep. Smoke will kill you before the flames do. Some people think the smoke alarm outside their bedroom is enough to alert them to fire. Research has shown that if a fire starts in a bedroom and the door is closed, the smoke alarm outside the bedroom will not activate until the fire burns through the door. By then, the bedroom will be full of smoke and it will be too late. Smoke may not wake you, but a working smoke alarm in your bedroom will.