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While battery powered smoke detectors have undoubtedly contributed to the substantial reduction in fire casualties in the home, the issue of battery failure or removal still contributes to alarms not working when they are needed. Neil Perdell examines the alternatives.
In the last few years, scotland seems have led the way in progressive social legislation, whether it’s in the provision of free college education or care of the elderly. Now, with new guidance in relation to the Repairing Standard under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, which came into effect in September 2007, it’s leading the way again – only this time in the area of smoke alarm provision by landlords.
As of 3 September 2007, any smoke alarm installed by a landlord – and this includes replacement alarms – must be mains powered. In effect, it’s the beginning of the end for battery powered smoke alarms in rented accommodation in Scotland.
Hopefully, it will also be the beginning of the end of the battery alarm for councils and housing associations in the rest of the UK. We may well find that the Scottish initiative could be adopted by British Standards and legislation in the near future. It is based on sound safety principles, not to mention backed up by official fire statistics, which show a glaring problem with the protection offered by battery powered smoke alarms compared to mains powered units.
This is not necessarily because of the build or design quality of battery units; many are very good, although some are distinctly lacking too. The problem is in the maintenance of these units, and the removal of batteries by tenants – even so called 10 year batteries – rendering smoke alarms useless. It may be that the battery has been removed to silence a persistent false alarm or to be used in some other device. Either way, the alarm is completely disabled and unless landlords are able to constantly check units, they cannot know of this.
Onus on landlords
We can see the nervousness about battery alarms reflected in the Notes on the Statutory Guidance, where landlords are advised to get tenants to change their batteries once a year and to change batteries themselves before a tenant moves in, if they have a lease lasting less than a year. The Notes go on to recommended that landlords should advise tenants not to tamper with alarms, and leases should contain a clause about not tampering with batteries.
In Fire Statistics, United Kingdom, 2005, issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government, the scale of the problem is laid bare. To quote section 2.34:
“In those dwelling fires where a smoke alarm was present, 24% of alarms in 2005 failed to operate. However, this overall figure masks a wide difference in performance between battery powered alarms and mains powered alarms – 38% of all battery powered smoke alarms failed in 2005 compared to just 13% of mains powered alarms.”
The report says the main reason for smoke alarm failure in these cases was missing or flat batteries – in 44% of all cases, this was because the battery was actually missing. By comparison, the main reason mains powered alarms didn’t sound was that combustion bi-products didn’t reach them.
It must be clear from these statistics that something needs to be done. Manufacturers have tried design changes, but nothing seems to have stopped tenants from removing batteries. Is there a way to stop tenants from removing or disabling batteries? Can tenants be relied upon to replace them when they go flat? Can a landlord develop a way of adequately checking all properties to ensure that tenants haven’t disabled their alarms, 24/7, 365 days a year? The answer to all three questions seems to be a resounding no.
Scottish example
The Scottish move away from battery powered units towards mains powered protection seems to be the only way to tackle the problem. Tenants are far less likely to attempt to fiddle with mains powered units and – if they do – there are usually no useful batteries inside, especially when Lithium Cell technology is used. The statistics bear this out.
Moving from battery to mains protection is so sensible – and essential – that it would be shameful if the present situation in the rest of the UK were allowed to continue much longer. If and when such changes do come nationwide, it is most likely that they will follow the Scottish model by not actually demanding immediate replacement of battery units in existing applications, but that all new installations will have to be mains powered.
Landlords in the rest of the UK contemplating a new installation should now seriously consider installing mains powered protection instead of battery units. Not only would this be planning for the future, but it also ensures greatly increased safety for the tenant and better protection for the property itself.
Mains powered systems have seen many changes over the past few years: some units are far quicker and easier to fit; new alarm types can be interconnected by radio signal instead of wires; and other new features, such as remote control, now enable tenants to hush or test an alarm from a conveniently placed wall box.
Mains powered smoke alarms can now be integrated into one system with Carbon Monoxide alarms. There are also extra safety features available to ensure any special needs are met – a vital consideration given the onerous task of risk assessment.
With these new developments, with the powerful arguments presented in Fire Statistics, with ever-tighter health and safety legislation and with the example set by Scotland, the days of battery alarms being acceptable protection in rented accommodation must surely be coming to an end.
Neil Perdell is technical services manager of Aico, UK distributor of the Ei Professional range of mains powered smoke and heat alarms. www.aico.co.uk