Fire alarms

ExDancer, we had two new fire alarms fitted by our local Fire Service. All for free. They are supposed to last for approx 7 years, and then need replacing.

I have a heat alarm in the kitchen, a smoke alarm in the hall, a smoke alarm on the landing and a combined smoke and carbon monoxide alarm in my living room. All are wired in. The living room alarm needs to be changed as a unit every ten years. The other 3 each have a pp3 battery which I replace once a year. House is new build so all are on up to date regulations

They are incredibly sensitive and go off in tandem if eg the battery needs changing, so I do that in advance. I also keep a long dowel handy so I can reach the switch and have learnt to shut the kitchen door if I make toast

I was recommend by a nurse to have my carbon monoxide monitor in the bedroom. When you’re asleep is the dangerous time, I know because it happened to me and two others.
We all ended up in hospital.
We were on a yacht. If a friend hadn’t wondered why we weren’t up and come knocking we would have died.

Contact your local fire service and tell them yours isn’t working - they will come and fit a new one for uou

We were recommended/told, to have two fire alarms.
I think it depends on the size of where you live. Plus the alarms need to be heard in all rooms.

We have 2. One at the head of each staircase. They run off the mains as we had them installed with the intruder alarm when we moved in. They are checked and serviced every year.

The law in Scotland regarding fire alarms has changed.

The law in Scotland has changed and as of 1 February 2022 every home now needs to have interlinked fire alarms.

Being interlinked means if one alarm goes off, they all go off. You may not always hear the alarm closest to the fire, especially if you’re somewhere else in the house. An interlinked system will alert you immediately and can help save lives.

If you're a homeowner, it's your responsibility to make sure your home meets the new fire alarms standard as soon as possible. If you are worried about what the new legislation means for your home insurance, please speak to your insurance company directly.

We have one in the kitchen with a carbon monoxide monitor, one in the hall, one in the living room and one in the upstairs hall.
We got an electrician to fit them, to ensure they were all synchronised. We had to replace all the ones we had, despite being in working order

Yes, they do last 10 years (or more). I’ve lived in my house for 30 years and recently replaced 2 alarms that were nearly 11 years old. You normally put them at the top of stairs and in main rooms.

Check out your local Fire Service, as ours offers free fitting and replacement of obsolete or faulty alarms. I think it may be a National scheme.

Marydoll

The law in Scotland regarding fire alarms has changed.

The law in Scotland has changed and as of 1 February 2022 every home now needs to have interlinked fire alarms.

Being interlinked means if one alarm goes off, they all go off. You may not always hear the alarm closest to the fire, especially if you’re somewhere else in the house. An interlinked system will alert you immediately and can help save lives.

If you're a homeowner, it's your responsibility to make sure your home meets the new fire alarms standard as soon as possible. If you are worried about what the new legislation means for your home insurance, please speak to your insurance company directly.

We have one in the kitchen with a carbon monoxide monitor, one in the hall, one in the living room and one in the upstairs hall.
We got an electrician to fit them, to ensure they were all synchronised. We had to replace all the ones we had, despite being in working order

We had ours fitted properly but do not know anyone else who bothered. It seems to have been quite forgotten and no publicity about it at all now .