dr. russell set up a test at the texas a&m engineering extension service. first, dr. russell placed three ionization detectors, the kind most of us have in a room with a couch. next, firefighters set a slow smoky fire using a soldering iron. we're watching on monitors outside. firefighters say every minute counts to get your family out. but watch. the room is filling up with smoke, and the smoke detectors still haven't gone off. it's been 30 minutes. >> the smoke is all the way to where the smoke detectors are. and ix still don't have any alert from the smoke detectors. >> reporter: finally, at 36 minutes -- >> ix did have a smoke detector going off. >> reporter: minutes later, the other two go off. just as the couch is about to erupt in flames. >> it's way too late. too dangerous. you couldn't get out of that room reliably. >> reporter: this is the type of smoke detector most of us have. about there's another technology out there that experts say gives you better warning in these fires. it's called a photo eelectric detector, and even government tests show it goes off

dr. russell set up another test, this time with a photoelectric next to those three ionization detectors. 17 minutes in, with barely any smoke in the room, the photoelectric sounds the alarm. the ionizations? they're still silent for another 21 minutes. even with smoke everywhere. >> if i would have relied on ionization, then my family probably wouldn't make it out. but with the photoelectric they'd have plenty of time to get out. >> reporter: the leading smoke detector companies do make photoelectric alarms but still sell most of their products without it. >> i think it's probably a business decision. >> reporter: the ionization detectors cost less money to make than the photoelectric? >> that is a correct statement. >> reporter: the companies told us all their detectors provide adequate escape time and meet safety standards, but critics say the government should force higher standards. so we went to the agency overseeing the companies. why not mandate photoelectric? >> because both technologies are working in saving lives. >> reporter: we know of several cases where the smoke alarm, peo

dr. russell set up a test at the texas a&m engineering extension service. first, dr. three ionization detectors, the kind most of us have in a room with a couch. next, fire fighters set a slow smokey fire using a soldering iron. we're watching on monitors outside. fire fighters say every minute counts to get your family out, but watch, the room is filling up with smoke, and the smoke detectors still haven't gone off. it's been 30 minutes. >> the smoke is all the way towards where the smoke detectors are, and we still don't have any alert from the smoke detectors. >> reporter: finally at 36 minutes. >> we do have a smoke detector going off. >> reporter: minutes later, the other two go off. just as the couch is about to erupt in flames. >> it's way too late. too dangerous. you couldn't get out of that room reliably. >> reporter: remember, this is the type of smoke detector most of us have, but there's another technology out there that experts say gives you better warning in these fires. it's called a photoelectric detectors and even government tests show it goes off much

. >> general russel honore, thank you very much for your time tonight. >>> joining me now is dr. phil lip orton, from the stevens institute of technology. dr. or tcton, how big of an imp is this storm going to have over the next few hours as the storm makes landfall? >> the biggest krn is the central part of new injuries see. there is flooding all over the place. new york city is going to have pretty bad flooding and really now since it took more of a turn sitting to the south of new jersey, they are getting hammered. >> we heard from 9 to 11 foot storm surges from hurricane sandy. what exactly does that mean? >> the storm surge is a slow sea level rise over the past 24 hours it's been coming in. the tide comes in every 12 hours. we had one of those on top of a little bit of storm surge this morning and now we've got about 6 1/2 feet of storm surge in new york harbor, even more along the jersey coast and we're getting another one of those high tides. so that's -- the two together are what determines the total water level that people have at their feet. >> where are we going to se