shortliner Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I picked this up on the Railroad Lines group. I urge you to watch it, and give some very serious consideration to passing it on to feriends and family, and to doing something about yours, if you have a standard smoke alarm fitted It is so easy to feel that you and the kids are protected, when the opposite may be true Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oggy1953 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Sorry to be cynical, but seems to be an advertising ploy by the alarm company. Our alarm went off one night as the battery was low, you should have seen the movement in our house, Dog barking etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Taz Posted February 4, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 4, 2011 Whilst I see their point, no responsible parent would leave their kids home alone and once they were awake they could get the kids up (it would be the first thing I did) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 That's true. Mine (I think ten in total, integrated) are hardwired together (battery as back-up only) and wake up the neighbours when they go off (they all go off if one does). The individual battery powered Smoke Alarms are a real waste of time...... My biggest beef with mine is that occasionally they all go off when I make toast (I take mine almost blackened). The code here in New Jersey is: Both detectors and alarms in each Bedroom, in the Hallways, Kitchen, Basement, wherever the heating is situated- I also have both in the Garage (yes, I learned from experience). CO detectors in basement and upstairs "boiler room" (we have bi-level heating and cooling), + daughter's room. Thanks for bringing it our attention - the last time I was in England I only saw one integrated system in a home. Best, Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I hope everyone who took part was paid well for the scare-mongering advertising - sorry but I particularly dislike commercial advertising or propaganda dressed up as public information films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmisterporter Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Whilst I see their point, no responsible parent would leave their kids home alone and once they were awake they could get the kids up (it would be the first thing I did) The problem is waking up may not happen. Most people killed in house fires are overcome by smoke and fumes whilst asleep. I used to think that in the event of my house catching fire absolutely nothing would stop me from rescuing my children. Then I saw a training film by the fire brigade that showed how quickly a room fills with dense deadly smoke. Believe me you have only a slim chance of saving yourself, going back in to save the kids is nigh on impossible. In this day and age I cannot believe that anyone would gamble with their lives like this. Trisonic Pete is right, too much protection is better than too little. Geoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penlan Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 .....In this day and age I cannot believe that anyone would gamble with their lives like this. Think of those who have lost their lives in water/pond/lake/sea as their pet makes it to the shore - All rational goes when dealing with loved ones. We have intergrated fire and smoke alarms, well we did, then pulled the plug and just have battery ones fitted now, why, well we did run a B&B and after the 6th time in 2 months with the alarm going off around 3 - 4 am, the guests were not happy, and our hearts weren't coping so well either. We change the batteries on my birthday every year. We did use the intergrated ones for a time and kept returning them to the reputable manufacturer to find out why they kept going off - not secret smokers etc., - they didn't know - I do have two battery units in the garage as well, wired to a 'speaker' in the house - I have 3 Austin 7's tucked up in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZ Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 My daughter take a lot of waking up, always has done. But I don't think I am going to be standing by the door to see if the alarm wakes her up if it went off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted February 4, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 4, 2011 We have integrated smoke/heat alarms and when they go off (Mrs Stationmaster grilling bacon or frying an egg is the usual cause) the noise is enough to waken the neighbourhood. They seem a bit too sensitive to me but they're there for a purpose, and as required in a new house at the time we built ours, so we just keep umbrellas etc handy to reach the cut-off buttons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenton Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 They seem a bit too sensitive to me but they're there for a purpose, One of my cousins is married to a fireman who travels the world giving training to other fire officers. I complained to him that ours seemed to go off at the slightest provocation. Cook anything in the kitchen, bonfire outside, once just walking upstairs. The installer put it at the top of the stairwell. It was impossible for me to reach and the only way to change the battery and test it was to call in a guy with a very long ladder. It was linked into the security alarm system and would wake the entire neighbourhood including a call-out to the security firm. Anyway, we were so fed up with it we had it disconnected. My cousin's husband then told us that there was nothing wrong with the alarm it was just installed in the wrong place. They are sensitive for a reason but if placed at the top of what is effectively a chimney even a change in temperature between floors will trigger them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor Charon Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I have to agree that what matters is not that you have a smoke alarm, or rather not just that you have a smoke alarm (or more than one). In my old flat, they'd put it in the hallway, not far from the kitchen door. Every single time I fried anything, it went off. Totally useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sulzer27jd Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 As horrifying as the thought is most kids die in fires because the adults supervising them are under the influence of alcohol. In fact most adults who die in fires are under the influence of alcohol. The highest risk group are white males between 35 and 55, who live alone, drink and smoke. If you are having excessive problems with detectors going off, they are either the wrong kind or in the wrong place. If it is within or nearby a kitchen you can swap them to heat detectors. Giving them a vacuum every now and again can also help cut down on false alarms. In general now the older ionisation detectors are considered unreliable to the point of being dangerous. http://www.theworldfiresafetyfoundation.org/home.html If you have these or detectors of 10 years + I suggest you replace them as a matter of course. Select a photo-electric type as these are far more sensitive to smoke and less sensitive to other particulates that are often caused by cooking. Battery powered detectors are just as reliable as hard wired if you get the correct type but of course you need to remember to replace the batteries. One suggestion is to do that when you change the clocks in spring. The really important thing is to get them fitted - and to know what to do when they go off. An escape plan is really important and should be discussed with family members so everyone knows what to do. It is an idea to keep a mobile phone available. It is staggering that when detectors are only a few pounds that there are still people without them. I've shovelled too many peoples homes out into their gardens and seen too much devastation to have any doubts, detectors save lives. If you have any queries your local fire and rescue service will do a home safety visit, just give them a call. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I would recommend using both ionising smoke alarms AND photo-detection smoke alarms. It has been proved that ionising alarms aren't always triggered by the presence of certain types of smoke particle. Fit a CO alarm aswell, and make sure that both the alarms, and batteries are kept up to date. Certain alarms have a shelf life and should be replaced once the replacement date marked on the alarm is reached. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sulzer27jd Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I would recommend using both ionising smoke alarms On what basis would you make that recommendation of using ionising? It seems as if the science is very much against them, so where would you site the good one and where would you site the one that is less likely to activate in a fire? If you have evidence to support this recommendation I would be very interested in seeing it. Cheers. j Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 On what basis would you make that recommendation of using ionising? It seems as if the science is very much against them, so where would you site the good one and where would you site the one that is less likely to activate in a fire? If you have evidence to support this recommendation I would be very interested in seeing it. Cheers. j I did say both ionising AND photo-detection. Belt and braces, just my preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted February 5, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 5, 2011 We have intergrated fire and smoke alarms, well we did, then pulled the plug and just have battery ones fitted now, why, well we did run a B&B and after the 6th time in 2 months with the alarm going off around 3 - 4 am, the guests were not happy, and our hearts weren't coping so well either. We used to have a B&B and had an integrated system. In fact I think it was a Fire Certificate requirement. It had a mixture of smoke and rate of change heat detectors. The only time it went off when it shouldn't was when guests tried to have a crafty fag. We had high intensity sounders on each landing (three) and a very loud Bell. When it went off it would wake the dead! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sulzer27jd Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 I did say both ionising AND photo-detection. Belt and braces, just my preference. And my question was on what basis would you recommend fitting ionising detectors? Many in the firefighting industry believe them to dangerous so if you are going to fit two detectors ( a generally good idea anyway), fit two photo-electric. However I was being serious, if you have evidence to show the value of ionising I would be interested. In Scotland the Fire and Rescue services will only fit P-E, many international colleagues are similar, in parts of Australia and the US it is all that should be fitted. Frankly I don't think ionising should be sold let alone fitted. But with an open mind, if you are recommending based on knowledge or evidence I would be please to receive that. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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