Product category:
Fire and Smoke Protection, Detection and Alarms
News Release from: Aico | Subject: Ei range
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 26 January 2006
Aico advises smoke alarm interconnection
Aico advises that smoke alarm interconnection is the best way to prevent more people dying or being seriously injured in house fires.
Aico - supplier of the best-selling Ei range of mains powered smoke alarms - advises that smoke alarm interconnection is the best way to prevent more people dying or being seriously injured in house fires because they fail to hear their smoke alarm - even though it's working properly Fire Statistics 2003, United Kingdom, issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, shows the single biggest cause of failure to act when a smoke alarm went off was that no-one was 'in earshot'
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 20 Feb 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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This happened in 22% of the 3,100 fires where the smoke alarm operated but failed to raise an alarm.
The same report also looked at casualty rates and concluded that they were significantly higher in the early hours of the morning (between midnight and 6am), leading to the conclusion that a number of victims simply slept through the alarm.
"People who are fast asleep upstairs may simply not hear a solitary alarm sounding downstairs," comments Malcolm Brown, Sales and Marketing Director of Aico.
"Alternatively, they may eventually hear it, but only after it has been sounding for a good while - particularly if they have their bedroom doors closed".
"By the time smoke and flames have spread up the staircase and triggered the upstairs alarm, escape is considerably more difficult." So what is the solution?.
"The earliest possible warning is vital," says Malcolm.
"That means that, when the alarm sounds downstairs, the upstairs alarm should sound simultaneously too".
Smoke alarms can be interconnected so that every alarm in the house goes off simultaneously, but the procedure of hardwired interconnection has put many people off due to the labour intensive nature of the job, the associated high labour costs and disruption and damage to the property.
Aico's response has been to offer the unique RadioLINK system, in which all the mains powered smoke and heat alarms are connected by radio signals, rather than by hard wiring.
When one alarm sounds, it sends signals to all the others to make them sound as well.
"Interconnecting smoke alarms is a vital way of giving people more warning and so reducing deaths and injuries," says Malcolm.
"With technology like RadioLINK now readily available it's never been easier, quicker or more cost effective to interconnect alarms and give people those vital extra minutes to make their escape.".
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