The Chief Fire Officers Association has issued a statement in response to reports of a small number of incidents with smoke alarms. These include a small fire in Hull last year, which was at the time unexplained. The model involved is the Fire Angel ST-620 smoke alarm manufactured by Sprue Safety Products.
“We are aware of a small number of cases across the country where smoke alarms fitted by local fire and rescue services have caused minor incidents. CFOA and the services involved have supported a thorough independent technical investigation in to the causes. We must stress that these are very isolated cases.
“In each incident the smoke alarms involved had been mechanically damaged after fitting which caused the battery to short-circuit and overheat. There is no evidence to suggest that a smoke detector that is securely fixed to the ceiling is unsafe in any way. Smoke detectors do save lives and CFOA very much supports their continued use. The risk is much greater for residents to tamper with or remove these alarms.”
Dave Curry, CFOA director for prevention and protection added: “A detector would need to be broken apart for the battery to be dislodged and then come to rest in a position where a short circuit across the positive and negative terminals occurred. If any member of the public has concerns they should contact their local [fire and rescue service].”
The statement follows the decision by Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) to write to around 3,000 residents to inform them of the potential fire hazard in damaged smoke alarms and to offer them the opportunity to have the alarms replaced. CFRS told info4fire.com:
"Despite the extremely unlikely risk of an incident occurring, CFRS has taken proactive action over the last few months to contact every affected household to replace smoke detectors. We have done this because we believe that any risk, however small, should be completely removed. We have also worked closely with the manufacturer to ensure that the risk of battery short circuit in new batches of the smoke detectors has been completely removed."
Sprue Safety Products has set up a helpline for enquiries: 0800 141 2561 or [email protected]
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