Qld residents unaware of 1 July smoke alarm legislation
Three quarters of all Qld residents are unaware of new mandatory smoke alarm regulations that come into effect on 1 July 2007, according to a survey by leading fire protection company Wormald, and electronic security company, ADT Security.
“The lack of community awareness and the confusion associated with the new law is very worrying,” said Mark Norton, general manager of ADT Security.
“Of concern is that the survey also revealed that one in 10 Queensland residents do not have any smoke alarms in their home, leaving them particularly vulnerable not just to the risk of fire, but also great property and financial loss.”
Eighty eight percent of households in Qld have at least one smoke alarm installed. However, only 35% of these homes are adequately protected against the risk of fire due to lack of ongoing maintenance.
Smoke alarms need to be regularly maintained and tested to make sure that they continue to work effectively, yet the survey showed only one third of people had vacuumed to remove dust from their smoke alarms and one in five had not changed the battery in their smoke alarm(s) in the past 12 months.
The minimum legal requirements depend on the layout, size and sleeping arrangements of each home and may not be as straight-forward as simply installing one smoke alarm in your home. For example, the regulations require homes with more than one storey to have a smoke alarm on each level and homes with bedrooms not grouped in the one area are required to install a smoke alarm.
