The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 5 letter word SMOKE ALARM
S
M
O
K
E
A
L
A
R
M
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "means of avoiding emergency?" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case means of avoiding emergency? = smoke alarm.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.