A proper fire alarm in good working order could save your life, but how often do you check yours is working?
90% of houses have fire alarms. If you’re a landlord, you are legally obliged to install adequate smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms. Yet worrying figures released recently have shown that nearly a third of household alarms failed in residential property fires.
In a study conducted by the Local Government Association (read the full report here), the majority of smoke alarm failures (45%) were due to the device being incorrectly positioned, and further 20% of failures were caused by faulty batteries.
Battery-powered smoke alarms are the cheapest and most convenient type of smoke detector. They usually have a life span of around 10 years with the battery physically sealed into the device. The other main variety are actually wired into the mains, these are less likely to fail but are much more difficult to reposition if they are poorly located, or if the floor plan of the property changes due to construction work such as room extensions.
Local authorities urge homeowners to check their smoke alarms regularly, but especially before Christmas when the risk of fires in residential properties increases dramatically.
Fire hazards in the home over Christmas include:
- Candles left to burn unattended
- Faulty wiring on Christmas lights
- Decorations fixed to heaters or light fittings
- Overloaded plug sockets
- Christmas trees decorated with faulty lights
- Setting light to the Christmas pudding with Grandad’s Benedictine
Ok, that last one was a bit silly, but joking aside, 22% of homeowners have never checked their fire alarm, 10% of houses don’t even have fire alarms at all, and nearly half of fire alarms are in the wrong the place.
It’s not rocket science. During the festive season, most people introduce multiple fire hazards into their Homes. Check your fire alarm, get your friends and family to check theirs, and fix them if they aren’t working.