Hot Item: A Life-Saving Squawk

The ancient Romans kept geese on their Capitoline hill to cackle alarm in the event of attack by night. For modern Americans, fire is nighttime's most dreaded foe--yet relatively few households are equipped with smoke detectors, the contemporary early-warning birds.

About 7,000 people in the U.S. are killed by residential fires each year --75% of them during the night. Up to 60% of those lives might have been spared by smoke alarms, safety experts contend. Says Richard Strother, associate administrator of the Commerce Department's National Fire Prevention and Control Administration: "We believe they're the single most effective piece of equipment ever devised to prevent fire deaths."

The 89% Chance. The alarm sounds a deafening, 85-decibel squawk even before fire has actually broken out--smoke from a nearby overdone roast can set it off. Easy to install, the bowl-shaped sensors can be simply plugged into house current. Even better, some are powered by batteries; these generally last a year and chirp insistently when they are running down. Smoke sleuths can be used in conjunction with heat detectors (cost: $100 plus for a complete system). Heat detectors are slower to sound a smoke alarm and are used mainly in closed areas such as basements and garages, where a quick heat buildup is likely. Says Fire Marshall Rex Jordon of Olympia, Wash.: "Heat 36 detectors are fine if you want to spend the money. But if you're on a limited income, I would recommend just a smoke detector." The reason: most fire victims die from asphyxiation, not burns.

A federally sponsored study of the "chance of escape after alarm" in several deliberately ignited homes showed that one heat sensor in every room provided only an 11% escape potential, while one smoke detector at each level of the house gave an 89% chance of escape. Many states and cities now require smoke detectors in all houses and apartments before they are sold or resold. The Federal Government will not approve a VA or FHA new housing loan unless the structure has detectors; Montgomery County, Md., will require all homes to be equipped with the sensors by July 1, 1978. Most new mobile homes have come equipped with the devices since 1973. Some major casualty underwriters give a 2% rebate on insurance premiums to households where the smoke warners are installed.

Home smoke detectors were first marketed in quantity only three years ago, but they are already a red-hot industry. Last year some 4 million were sold, and sales are expected to increase by 50% in 1977. The prices for various models range from $25 to $45 and are dropping fast among the 80 to 100 rival brand-name distributors. Smoke detectors work either through photo-electric cells or an ionization device,-- but fire officials generally agree that there is minimal difference in effectiveness between the two. They also warn that the occupants' chances of escape from a burning dwelling rest ultimately on a prearranged exit plan well understood by all family members.

Still, like the Romans' feathered friends, the smokeys can help assure a restful night. A Los Angeles fireman who bought several battery-powered smoke detectors for his home put them unopened in the basement. Later that night they all erupted in wild ululation. A fire had started. The family survived.

Odds & Trends

His Master's Voice. Just about any dog owner can be a do-it-yourself Doctor Dolittle and learn to converse with his pet. So maintains Dr. Michael Fox, an English-educated veterinarian, author and psychologist. In a record called Dog-talk ($5.95), Fox explains that dogs can comprehend about 40 words. As for the owners, they can be trained to comprehend their pets' arfs, hahrs and whoo-whoos. "Right now," he says, "your dog probably understands you better than you understand it." Other Foxy insights: why a dog likes to smell bad (it's a status symbol); why it chews up the furniture (it could be jealousy); what a stare signifies (a threat: do not stare back); and what it means when its tail wags stiffly (possibly hostility).

Rip-Off. Fashion designers like to stamp their initials on just about everything from blankets to blouses. The latest product to sport a chichi monogram is a line of toilet paper imprinted with the initials GO. The logo closely resembles Gucci's famed trademark, GD. But the initials signify nothing, insists Dawn Steele, whose Manhattan-based Entrepreneuse Enterprises is marketing the rolls for $3.50 a pair. Whatever GO really stands for (gross cuteness?), E.E's rip-off is a sellout in the New York City area. The tissue issue will soon reach the West Coast, where Steele already has at least one patron: Frank Sinatra, who received eight dozen rolls for Christmas.

So There! In this age of unbleeped candor, there still are many people too timorous to speak up when they are irritated, infuriated or infatuated. Coming to the rescue of this legion of the tongue-tied is an outfit called Speak Up Service. Located in a Chicago suburb, it performs the John Aldenesque task of communicating the good or bad news by phone. Started by Housewife Marti Hough, 30, after she finished an eight-week assertiveness training course, the surrogate service (312-246-5040) will phone your message to a boss or a beau, an alimony-delinquent husband or an unloving wife. Only 25% of her communiques are nice, says Mrs. Hough, adding: "Most people have difficulty getting their point across on sensitive issues. They know what they want to say, but can't bring themselves to say it." Cost: $5 a call, plus long-distance charges. No breathers, please.

* Despite charges by Ralph Nader's Health Research Group that ionization devices expose users to radiation danger, the National Bureau of Standards and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission both report they pose no threat.

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