Fire and Smoke detection in homes

No doubt many of us know the warning that ‘smoke kills’. Well, in the year ending June 2019, 215 people lost their lives due a fire at home. Statistically, smoke kills more people than fire and you are eight times more likely to die from a fire if you don’t have a working smoke alarm in your home.

It is therefore important to install working smoke alarms /detectors correctly positioned throughout the home. The terms smoke alarm and smoke detector are generally inter-changeable but there is a difference.

A smoke alarm is an all in one, self-contained device with a detector that senses the products of combustion (smoke) and sounds an audible and sometimes visual warning or alarm such as a flashing light. A smoke detector senses smoke only and must be connected to a fire alarm system control panel to activate an audible sometimes visual warning or alarm. It is NOT a stand-alone unit. Smoke detectors are a detection device only – not an alarm. They are more commonly found in commercial / industrial settings.

As a minimum a smoke alarm should be fitted within the circulation space on every floor in your home and including in each bedroom. They should be tested at least once a month, especially battery-operated units as batteries gradually lose their power. The fire authority also recommend that they are replaced every ten years so check the ‘replace by’ date on the labelling and replace them when necessary.

To be effective as possible smoke alarms should be positioned at least 300mm horizontally from any wall or light fitting and never directly above a heating appliance. They should also never be painted. They should never be placed in a kitchen or bathroom, instead a heat detector should be installed in these areas.

A heat detector is a device that can sense heat in a room alerting homeowners that there is a fire before the fire becomes irreversible as it responds to convected thermal energy radiated from a fire. Cooking fires are the main causes of fire in the home.

For more information on smoke alarms and heat detectors in the home contact Woodward Chartered Surveyors or visit www.firekills.campaign.gov.uk

Woodward Chartered Surveyors report on safety in the home as part of the Level 2 House or Flat Purchase Surevey or Level 3 Building Survey.  Our Administration office is in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire with associated office in Mayfair, London.  We cover an area from East of Oxford to Oxford Street and Central London, as well as Hertforshire and Buckingshire such as High Wycombe, Uxbridge, Ruislip, Northwood, Pinner, Harrow, Chesham, Watford, Stanmore etc.

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