Smoke alarms are mandatory in Australian residential homes but many property owners are paying no heed to the law when it comes to meeting their responsibilities in this area, or are simply ignorant of the legislation. That is according to new data, which reveals a huge number of homes do not have working smoke alarms.
Research on the ground by Australia’s leading smoke alarm specialist suggests that almost two out of every three Australian homes has at least one defective smoke alarm, and nearly 1 in 2 households has no working smoke alarm at all. Worse still, the number of properties with inoperable or absent alarms is increasing year on year.
Real estate agents are being urged to educate their property owner clients on their responsibilities when it comes to the provision of working smoke alarms, for the sake of their investments as well as the safety of their tenants.
Since 2010, Smoke Alarms Australia, Australia’s leading and longest-running residential smoke alarms specialist, has carried out a first inspection of more than 140,000 residential properties in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, ACT and Western Australia – and a total of 259,000 smoke alarms. Its data reveals the prevalence of properties with at least one non-working smoke alarm due to damage, fault or expiry, or where an alarm is absent, has increased year on year – from 39% of inspected properties in 2010, up to 59.9% in 2014.
Of greater concern, across the five states there has been year-on-year growth of residential properties with no working smoke alarms at all – from 28.3% in 2010, up to 44.5% in 2014.
Troy Thompson, General Manager at Smoke Alarms Australia, says, “These statistics are worrying and suggest that property owners are probably unaware of the smoke alarm legislation in their state, or that alarms expire after 10 years. State governments can issue property owners with on-the-spot fines for non-compliance – of $500 in Queensland to up to $5000 in Western Australia. In light of this data and the 11,000 household fires that occurred in Australian homes last year, it’s clear that householders are not aware that smoke alarms need to be checked at least yearly to ensure they are working.”
Troy adds, “Landlords and tenants are also likely to be unaware that, under some insurance policies, their home and contents cover may be invalid without a working smoke alarm.”
Troy warns that with Christmas lights and candles being a major household fire danger in summer, we are heading into another season of fire risk. “Now is the time for home owners to have their smoke alarms checked and replaced by a reputable smoke alarms specialist that carries all of the liability for product and workmanship. For only $99, home owners can have all their smoke alarms checked and replaced well before Christmas.”
A State-by-State analysis reveals that non-compliance among households has been rising in each state.
New South Wales
In 2010, 39.2% of first-time property inspections by Smoke Alarms Australia identified at least one non-working smoke alarm, up to 63.7% in 2014. There has also been year-on-year growth in inspected properties with no working alarms at all: from 28.9% in 2010, to 48.3% in 2014.
Victoria
In 2010, of Victorian properties inspected for the first time, 52.7% had at least one non-working smoke alarm. In 2014, it was 63.5%. In 2010, 44.3% of inspected Victorian properties had no working alarms at all, rising to 49.1% in 2014.
Queensland
The prevalence of non-compliance among Queensland properties inspected for the first time has fluctuated year on year since 2010, when 36.6% of properties had at least one non-working smoke alarm in 2010. In 2014, it was 37.2%. In 2010, 23.1% had no working alarms at all, up to 25.5% in 2014.
Western Australia
In 2013, 33.6% of West Australian properties inspected for the first time had at least one non-working smoke alarm, rising to 41.4% in 2014. In comparison to other states, Western Australia has the lowest incidence of properties with no working alarms at all – 5.1% in 2013, and 8.2% in 2014.
Smoke Alarms Australia’s 5 tips for choosing and installing smoke alarms:
- Choose photoelectric smoke alarms. Recommended by all Australian fire authorities, photoelectric smoke alarms use light sensor technology to ‘see’ smoke before flames appear, enabling them to detect smouldering fires faster than ionisation smoke alarms, which can only ‘smell’ smoke when a fire has already started.
- Know how to identify ionisation alarms. Ionisation smoke alarms contain a small amount of the radioactive material Americium-241. The base of an ionisation alarm will have a radiation symbol and description of Americium-241.
- Ensure smoke alarms meet the Australian Standard. Smoke alarms in all Australian residential properties need to meet the Australian Standard AS 3786. While certification should be clear on the packaging, it is best to have a smoke alarm specialist check to see if your alarms comply.
- Use a smoke alarms specialist to ensure compliance and to carry the liability. A reputable provider will inspect your property, provide and install the number of smoke alarms as required by law and ensure they’re positioned correctly within the property. The annual cost per property is as little as $99 when using a specialist such as Smoke Alarms Australia – with the added benefit that they will carry full product and workmanship liability insurance.
- Ensure you have the required amount of alarms. Smoke alarms are not only mandatory in Australian residential homes, but are required in each level of the home. All State fire authorities also recommend a smoke alarm be located between each bedroom area and the rest of the house, and inside any bedroom where a person sleeps with the door closed.
West Australian property inspections commenced in 2013.
All 2014 figures are for first-time property inspections up to 22 October 2014.
