Residential Safety Campaign Launched

Nov 2005: Leading manufacturer Kidde Fyrnetics has launched a campaign to make housing providers aware of their
legal responsibilities to fit smoke, heat and carbon monoxide alarms in homes, and for consistent guidance on the minimum standards demanded by various, conflicting documents.

There is real concern that some social housing providers as well as private landlords still believe they have no responsibility to fit smoke, heat or carbon monoxide alarms to existing housing.
This misconception is putting lives at risk: over 400 people die in house fires every year while at least 50 deaths and 200
serious injuries result from CO poisoning. To clear the matter up, Kidde Fyrnetics has obtained a definitive opinion from a legal expert.
This clearly demonstrates the legal obligations on landlords resulting from civil law  even where there is no specific Act of Parliament 
and the substantial damages which could be awarded against them.

The full legal opinion is available on request and is discussed in detail as part of Kidde Fyrnetics’ CPD presentations.

For social housing, the government intends to replace the Decent Homes ‘Fitness Standard’ (which did not refer to risks such
as fire or CO poisoning) with the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) which focuses more on health and safety issues.
The published HHSRS specifically identifies fire and carbon monoxide as ‘Category 1’ hazards and specifies properly sited and maintained smoke,
heat and CO alarms as an optimum preventative measure for landlords to carry out.
The government will require that a ‘decent home’ is free of all Category 1 hazards and seeks to ensure that all social housing meets the standard by 2010.

The benchmarks for HHSRS compliance generally are British Standards. In the case of fire, the latest BS 5839-6: 2004 gives excellent,
up-to-date and comprehensive guidance for both new and existing dwellings. However, it does exceed both the current version and a
new draft of Approved Document B of the Building Regulations, as well as the latest Scottish Technical Standards and Republic of Ireland
Technical Guide B. In contrast to other regulatory guidance, the new Technical Booklet E for Northern Ireland does follow BS 5839-6.

In essence, the Code of Practice concentrates on detecting fires in the more complex usage of modern homes, requiring heat alarms in all
kitchens and the principal living room - in addition to the smoke alarms in circulation areas already demanded by Part B (and other national Regulations).
But the new draft Part B then takes a different approach again, recognising the role of smoke and heat alarms in alerting occupants, specifically requiring
a smoke alarm in the main bedroom. To ensure a safe home environment for tenants we must adopt both approaches together,
combining comprehensive detection with effective warning of all occupants  and with the latest technology there is scope to deal with CO at the same time.

The unique Smart Interconnect feature on the latest range of Kidde Fyrnetics CO alarms enables a number of the company’s hard-wired CO, smoke
or heat alarms to be interconnected within a home. When a smoke/heat alarm is triggered by a fire, all the interconnected alarms (including CO alarms)
activate to alert occupants of danger, giving whole property protection. When a CO alarm is triggered by carbon monoxide, all interconnected CO alarms activate.
The new hard-wired CO alarms have different, distinct alarm sounder patterns for carbon monoxide and fire - supported by different digital display messages on
one model. For a minimum level of protection, an interconnected Kidde Fyrnetics CO alarm in the bedroom can act as the sounder for smoke/heat alarms elsewhere,
as well as protecting sleeping occupants against carbon monoxide poisoning.

ends

NOTES FOR EDITORS
As part of the world’s leading fire detection and suppression products manufacturer, Kidde Fyrnetics would be pleased to contribute objective,
dedicated articles on residential safety topics including fire risks and carbon monoxide poisoning. Please contact Chris Hodson.

Contact Details for Publication (if needed):
Kidde Fyrnetics, Mathisen Way, Colnbrook, Slough, Berkshire SL3 0HB
E-mail: kiddefyr@ukgateway.net
Web: www.smoke-alarms.co.uk

Further information for editors, contact: Chris Hodson, Tel: 01242 702 741; Fax: 01242 702 754;
E-mail: chris@hodsons.com
Address: Hodsons Ltd., 27 Andover Road, Cheltenham Spa, GL50 2TB

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