Smoke alarms, approx fitting costs

[alan_m]

Perhaps they have been lobbying. Electrical work in a kitchen - lots of money!

Judging by the cold calls that used to be left on my answerphone suggesting that any gas boiler installed before a certain date was illegal and to avoid possible prosecution I should immediately call for a quote I guess this will start an avalanche of similar calls in Scotland threatening possible legal action for not having "professionally" installed smoke alarms.

If smoke alarms become a legal requirement are the house/contents insurance companies going to insist on proof the systems are properly installed AMD maintained? This may rule out DIY and ad-hoc installation by your fire brigade.

[Andy Burns]

Kitchen is no longer a 'special' location (assuming it has no bath, sauna or swimming pool in it!)

[newshound]

Well it is *certainly* not the effective lifetime of the source: Am 241 has a half life of 432 years. So after 10 years the strength is only down by about 2%.

As an aside, a Stanford web site says the annual dose from smoke detectors is between 0.1 and 0.5 bananas per year.

[Scott]

You may find writing to your MSP a more fruitful exercise.

[Scott]

According to no lesser source than the Metro, enforcement will take place at point of sale. Unless the fire system is compliant, no Home Report will be issued, thereby preventing sale of the property.

[Scott]

I live in a flat with a smoke detector in the hall. On the basis of counting transits, my hall must be the room most frequently used. Is there a definition of 'use' as opposed to 'occupancy'? I assume most working people spend more time in bed than in their living room?

There is a CO already (three in fact, one for each gas appliance)

I just need a heat alarm for the kitchen then?

[Bob Eager]

It's more about dust, dirt, corrosion, etc.

[Thomas Prufer]

Yes -- mine last longer, in my detectors:-)

Just checked: one "Procell", expiry date MAR 2018, in a ionization detector. Got two optical detectors, with lifetimes handwavingly well greater than 14 months, but not able to check now.

None of these were expensive!

Thomas Prufer

[Tim Watts]

No - you can get 10 year Li battery radio interlinked alarms. Bloody expensive in comparison, but possibly cheaper than laying in new cabling (depending on accessibility of the wiring route).

EI-Aico make them IIRC.

[Tim Watts]

They can be bought to last 10 years

[Tim Watts]

For owner occupied dwellings, how on earth do they think they are going to enforce that?

[Tim Watts]

That sounds like proper "Big Government". I do sometimes wonder why the Scot vote these people in...

[Tim Watts]

Here you go Bob:

[Tim Watts]

Well, it isn't in England. Are you sure about Jockland?

Even in the Land of the Leeks, there is disparity on Part P...

[S Viemeister]

Hmm. Is it possible that the new Scottish regs will require the units be mains powered?

[alan_m]

Discontinued Unit, so.......

I'm not sure why the majority of domestic properties would require interlinking. If any of my alarms sound they can be easy heard in any room in the house.

[Tim Watts]

OK - ta...

A fireman friend told me of a little girl who died because her bedroom door was well-fitted, a fire started in her room but the smoke did not trip the detector outside in the hall.

This is why I put units in every habitable room and interlinked them. No one is sleeping through that!

[Graham.]

Not a bit of it! The Fire Brigade fitted two of them here and glued them to the ceiling paper with No More Nails (or something similar) They were Fire Angel alarms, a little larger than most, and have a back-plate to which the alarm can be fitted or removed with a twist.

In due course, the downstairs one went faulty, and when I tried to remove it from the plate it wouldn't budge. The whole thing was glued together. I used a serrated knife to saw through the glue, but it cut a hole in the ceiling paper. I bought a similar Fire Angel to replace it so the hole is hidden.

[ARW]

I'll bet they ware wanting Grade D - mains powered with a battery backup.

[Graham.]

My reading of this is unless it was built in or after 1993 abd has not undergone "alteration, extension or conversion" it will be exempt