Growing calls for change in smoke alarm legislation

Announcement posted by Smoke Alarm Solutions 27 Oct 2015

After the inquest into the deadly fire blaze that killed 11 people in their Slacks Creek home in 2011, coroner James McDougall made the recommendation that photoelectric alarms be made compulsory.

Years later, the State Government is yet to decide on the issue. The time for change is now. With the recent influx of fatal house fires Australians are calling for a change in smoke alarm legislation. There are two types of smoke alarms - Photoelectric and Ionisation. Both meet the Australian Standard AS3786: 2015, both can be legally purchased and used in Australia yet each work very differently from one another.

Photoelectric (Optical) Smoke Alarms

This smoke alarm detects visible particles and is particularly responsive to smoke and soldering fires. Essentially, they 'see' the fire before it has fully inflamed into a full-blown inferno. They can also be safely disposed of since they do not contain any radioactive material.

Ionisation Smoke Alarm

These types of smoke alarms detect invisible particles of combustion and activate more quickly for fast flaming fires rather than smoke. They are more prone to false alarms (such as burnt toast) and as a result statistics show that 25% of these alarms are often disconnected within the first two years. They also contain a small amount of radioactive materials making it difficult to dispose of safely.

In the event of a fire, it is critical that homeowners are alerted by a sounding alarm at the first instance of smoke rather than being alerted once naked flames are visible. Smoke Alarm Solutions have conducted more than 1.5 million smoke alarm inspections and have first hand experience on the effectiveness of Ionisation smoke alarms.

"We service smoke alarms in more than 220,000 properties annually, and we attend more than 100 properties every day where the occupant has reported a beeping, faulty or false alarming smoke alarm. In 87% of these fault reports, the alarms are ionisation smoke alarms" said Adam Graham, National Field Operations Manager of Smoke Alarm Solutions.

It is for this reason that Smoke Alarm Solutions has long ago implemented the policy to only use photoelectric alarms. If we visit a property and the existing smoke alarm that needs replacement is an ionisation alarm, we will replace the alarm with a photoelectric alarm.

To have your rent roll or property assessed to ensure that you are adequately protected, contact Smoke Alarm Solutions at 1300 852 301.

About

Smoke Alarm Solutions is Australia's leading smoke alarm maintenance and compliance company. We provide comprehensive yet cost-effective solutions to ensure home owners meet their legislative obligations and are fully protected with well maintained smoke alarms Operating since 2007, we currently service in excess of 260,000 Australian homes. We have the largest field service capability in our industry - servicing three properties every minute throughout the week. Our large workforce also means we can respond swiftly to any faulty smoke alarms.