Our best advice is to fit smoke alarms to give yourself the earliest possible warning to get out the property safely, without harm if there is a fire. You should follow the British standard BS5839-6:2013. As guidance, for a standard domestic house, fit smoke alarms:
- In rooms frequently used for general daytime living, such as the living room.
- Every circulation space, such as hallways and landings.
- Additionally a heat alarm should be installed in every kitchen.
- All alarms should be interlinked / interconnected.
- Alarms should be Grade D mains powered and battery back-up.
- Make sure you have smoke alarms on at least every level of your home.
Please note that the above can vary depending on your fire risk assessment.
Every house is different but as a minimum alarms should be fitted in hallways and landings, so that if there is a fire in these areas you can get out quickly. However there is more chance of a fire starting in a kitchen or living room, so alarms should be fitted here too.
The more alarms you have, the safer you’ll be. At minimum you should have one on each floor.
Challenges with fire safety in housing
A fire can occur anywhere, even where we least expect it. The biggest challenge is to raise awareness of fire safety and to ensure people make it a priority, because all too often, action to solve a problem is taken after an accident has occurred. There are a number of other issues facing fire safety in housing, such as:
- Choosing an alarm system based on cost and not quality.
- Ignoring the dangers of fire and Carbon Monoxide.
- Not choosing the right alarm / system.
- Lack of knowledge concerning best practice.
Choosing the right alarm
A well-chosen and working smoke alarm may double your chances of surviving the fire. It is important to know the various types of smoke alarms and their strengths and weaknesses.
Some smoke alarms run on batteries which may need to be replaced once a year. Some smoke alarms are equipped with lithium batteries designed to last for 10 years. Whilst others are designed to be wired in to mains power and have a battery back-up in the event of a power cut.
If you have a large house, you may not hear an alarm going off in another room. Consider a smoke alarm system where alarms are interconnected or linked together so that when 1 detects smoke, they all sound.
Different types of alarms
Not all fires are the same. Smoke alarms have different sensors to detect different fire types, so it’s important to choose the right alarms to protect against all fire types.
Ionisation – They are most sensitive to small particles produced by rapid, clean burning fires. Best for fast-flaming fires producing significant amounts of heat, such as, papers and clothing. Smoke neutralises a current between two points resulting in the alarm sounding. However may false alarm from cooking fumes.
Ionisation Alarms within the Aico range: Ei141RC / Ei161e
Heat – Best for detecting heat build-up from large flaming fires producing a lot of heat. A thermistor sensor responds to high temperatures and the alarm triggers at 58 °C. The alarm only responds to heat and therefore there are no false alarms from cooking fumes (toasting bread, grilling). Heat alarms are only suitable for kitchens, where smoke alarms may cause nuisance alarms.
Heat Alarms within the Aico range: Ei144RC / Ei164e
Optical – A single sensor alarm. An infa-red beam detects smoke in the sensor chamber. Smoke scatters the beam onto a receiver, resulting in the alarm sounding. Sensitive to large particle smoke and best for slow, smouldering fires producing little heat, e.g. Sofas, Tv’s.
Optical Alarms within the Aico range: Ei146RC / Ei166e
Multi Sensor – The E2110e Multi-Sensor Fire Alarm responds to all fire types providing a total fire response and making it the most reliable and effective alarm on the market. It contains two sensor types, optical and heat. The two sensors constantly monitor smoke and heat levels, sending and receiving signals via the Multi-Sensor’s intelligent software. The E2110e is less likely to nuisance alarm and the sensor compensates for dust build-up.
The Ei2110e contains AudioLINK which allows you to extract data from the alarm using the sounder directly to a Smartphone or Tablet via an app. AudioLINK can be used:
- As part of the property checks prior to change of tenants.
- To generate real time information if a tenant reports an issue with the alarms.
- To keep a physical record of the alarms history.
- As an asset management tool.
Source: http://www.ifsecglobal.com/fire-safety-housing-choosing-right-alarm/
Technique Learning Solutions offers a training course designed to introduce people to fire alarms and train them to install fire alarms & smoke systems in virtually any building. The course is detailed here: https://learntechnique.com/course/fire-alarms-bs-5839/