Ordinary smoke alarms can only do one thing
Fire safety is a chief concern for homeowners, and smoke detectors play a critical role in safeguarding your family. Even so, smoke detectors have various drawbacks. For instance, they are only able to react to smoke, not heat. If there is a fire in your home, you might not be warned before the smoke rises to the smoke detector. While there are some other significant signals of fire -- like a sharp increase in warmth -- if you don’t have smoke, there is no sounding of your smoke detector.
Additionally, smoke detectors only activate if they find an adequate amount of smoke. In the event a fire creeps along slowly at first, you may not be warned until the situation is out of hand. Some smoke detectors employ dual sensors, which means they will recognize smoke from both roaring flames and a more gradual burn. If they start beeping, it falls to the resident to contact first responders after safely leaving the property.