Particularly since the tragedy of March 2015 in which seven children were killed in a tragic fire, people are especially aware of the need for smoke detectors. What is required by code in virtually every community, is that there be a smoke detector on every floor. Additionally it is recommended (and in some areas mandated) that every bedroom should have a smoke detector. Presumably the reason that every bedroom should have a smoke detector is because we do not know where a fire might begin. By having a smoke detector in every bedroom we ensure that wherever a fire might start, it will be detected promptly. It is probable that another reason to recommend smoke detectors in every bedroom is because it has been found that many people are not awakened by a smoke detector sounding in the hallway. By having smoke detectors in every bedroom, we make it more likely that a sleeping person would be awakened.

An interesting concern has arisen, that people who do not intend to stay in the residence for a long time are hesitant to purchase smoke detectors for every bedroom, because they realize that once affixed it is difficult to take them down, and they will end up leaving them behind when they move. A suggestion has been made that they affix the smoke detectors in the bedrooms with double-sided tape thus enabling them to take the smoke detectors with them when they leave. This suggested practice, as ingenious as it may be, must be explored from a halachic perspective. Regarding the mitzvah of mezuzah we find that it is forbidden for a person to take his or her mezuzos with them when leaving a house. The reason given is that we must not deprive the incoming resident of the protection which a mezuzah provides. It is possible that, similarly, one should not remove smoke detectors from bedrooms to which they had already been affixed because this will deprive the incoming resident of that protection which is already in place.

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