Welsh Assembly Proposal

Ref: 570/1437

Issued: 15 February 2010

NEWS ITEM

FIRE REGULATION CHANGES

New proposals to improve domestic fire safety with sprinklers are essentially unrealistic and miss an obvious opportunity to save lives at a much lower cost presented by existing guidelines for hard-wired smoke and heat alarms.

The first legislative steps have just been taken towards mandatory fire suppression systems in all new and converted homes in Wales. But, if implemented, proposals from the Welsh Assembly would add a claimed 1-2% - which could actually be much higher – onto the cost of a home. This would be a real disincentive to housebuilders operating in Wales. Owners and occupiers would also be faced with annual maintenance costs of £75-£150. Fire suppression systems have proved to be particularly effective in non-domestic buildings but raise a range of issues when applied to housing.

But apart from cost, a detailed study published in 2006 and involving extensive tests demonstrates that sprinklers are not the best solution for most housing anyway. Prepared for the then ODPM by the BRE, ‘The effectiveness of sprinklers in residential premises’ concludes that “Smoke alarms, fitted in the room of fire origin, responded typically in half the time required by sprinklers and well before the conditions had become life threatening.” The BRE study also concluded that while sprinklers are probably cost-effective for residential care homes, HMOs and tall blocks of flats, they are not for other dwellings.

A much simpler solution to cutting fire deaths and injuries for a negligible cost is to address the illogical discrepancy between Building Regulations Part B – which applies to Wales as well as England – and the current Code of Practice for domestic fire alarm systems, BS 5839-6: 2004. Currently, Part B requires smoke alarms just in corridors and heat alarms in some kitchens. But, as BS 5839-6 points out, this: “might not therefore prevent the death or serious injury of occupants in the room where the fire originates”. It is worth remembering that around half of all domestic fire fatalities occur in the room of fire origination – and more in bedrooms.

BS 5839-6 is recognised as the authoritative guidance for both new and existing dwellings. It requires smoke or heat alarms in living rooms and a heat alarm in every kitchen, where most fires start, as well as the usual smoke alarms in circulation areas – all hard-wired with power backup and interconnected. But there have been other proposals for an extra, linked smoke alarm in the main bedroom too, essentially to wake sleeping occupants in a fire. And some alarm manufacturers offer CO alarms that act as sounders for interconnected smoke alarms as well as protecting against carbon monoxide poisoning.

So, for the negligible cost of installing 2 or 3 additional hard-wired alarms during construction, our homes could have in-built, comprehensive fire and CO safety. And it’s still not too late to alter the current Welsh Assembly proposals for sprinkler systems into these far more realistic measures. The latest information on domestic fire safety is available via www.smoke-alarms.co.uk

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