Important Guidance for Fire & Rescue Services

SMOKE ALARMS WITH 10 YEARS GUARANTEED LIFE

 

With the current emphasis on fire prevention and targets for reductions in fire-related deaths in the home, fire and rescue authorities are taking a sensible approach and fitting smoke alarms as part of Home Fire Safety Checks and similar initiatives. But there is some confusion about what to look for when choosing smoke alarms to make sure that they operate effectively and without trouble over their whole life expectancy.

In England, Firebuy acts as a central procurement body for fire and rescue authorities, removing the need for individual services having to deal with complex EU procedures for orders over £6,000. But Firebuy recognises that it does not have the expertise to validate smoke alarm manufacturers’ performance and test claims. This is the province of UKAS accredited independent certification bodies, such as the BRE Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB) and BSi via its Kitemark scheme.

Another misapprehension is that the CE mark is an indication of quality – it is not, but rather shows compliance with certain EC Safety Directives. So, it is important to look for the appropriate certification marks on the back of a smoke alarm – such as LPCB or the Kitemark – not just the CE mark.

The Firebuy contract clearly requires smoke alarms where “the product and battery offered have a 10-year guaranteed life expectancy” - an important requirement reflecting the need to replace any unit after that time. If manufacturers do not offer this guarantee – and certainly wording such as “10-years life expectancy” is not enough – then the Firebuy contract requires testing “to ensure compliance with the 10-year guarantee required”.

This guarantee makes sense as cheaper alarms without it are a false economy: imagine the cost of replacing a failed cheaper alarm after five years compared with, say, the 30p saved at purchase over a 10-year guaranteed model. As John Ruskin said: “It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little”. And the financial standing and stability of the manufacturing or importing company are also important to support the long-term obligations of the Firebuy contract and 10-year guarantees.

Clearly, it is essential to have written confirmation from manufacturers that both smoke alarms and batteries have a full 10-year life guarantee and are designed with generous tolerances to perform after that time. But what happens if the occupier has problems with the smoke alarm in use?

Direct customer contact with the manufacturer via telephone helplines and websites, supported by comprehensive user manuals, is essential to keep smoke alarms operational throughout their 10-year life - and, of course, swift replacement under the guarantee if the occupier cannot resolve the issue. Kidde even provides its fire and rescue authority clients with a toll-free number for UK and Eire householders to use.

Nuisance Alarms:

As Brigades such as Cambridgeshire have found alarms can attract small insects (thrips) especially around harvest time; this can then cause nuisance alarms for the householder, and unnecessary call outs on Brigades; see this story:
as at August 2009, Kidde is the only supplier of Optical smoke alarms on the Firebuy arrangement who have gone to the expense
of engineering their alarm with an insect mesh fitted. Kidde's mesh has a diameter of 0.030in, as can be seen in this image, and makes
passing fire tests that much more challenging.

The image also indicates the high quality lithium batteries we specify, made by FDK, previously known as Fuji.
When specifying your alarms, ensure you are getting both an insect screen and a battery make you recognise or can validate.

Details of Kidde Fire and Rescue Service initiatives and ranges of smoke, (Click link to left) heat and CO alarms can be found at www.smoke-alarms.co.uk.