Scotland - Home Of The Unworkable Law

Owain_Moneysaver

davidmcn wrote: »

If they're going to interlink anything, different flats in the same block would make most sense

That would be even worse.

You couldn't use the domestic mains powered detectors as they're not suitable for multi-family dwellings (and someone would tap into your mains supply exported into their flat...) so you'd require a full fire alarm panel located in the communal area, fire resistant cabling throughout, and six-monthly maintenance inspections.

Then every false alarm and the whole building would be evacuated and stand around waiting for an appropriate person to reset the alarm.

In cities with streets of tenements the whole street would have to be wired up.

davidmcn

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

That would be even worse.

You couldn't use the domestic mains powered detectors as they're not suitable for multi-family dwellings (and someone would tap into your mains supply exported into their flat...) so you'd require a full fire alarm panel located in the communal area, fire resistant cabling throughout, and six-monthly maintenance inspections.

Then every false alarm and the whole building would be evacuated and stand around waiting for an appropriate person to reset the alarm.

In cities with streets of tenements the whole street would have to be wired up.

Oh yes, I'm not suggesting it wouldn't also be expensive overkill - but there would be slightly more logic to it than interlinking detectors in my hall, living room and kitchen when any one of them would be audible from anywhere else in the flat.

theartfullodger

It's all the fault of landlords: Dunno if you can read this if not a member but...
https://scottishlandlords.com/news-and-campaigns/news/parity-safety-standards-announced/

PeterJones2018

Smoke detectors can be interlinked using wireless radio signals.

I could probably link with my neighbours alarms, if we bought compatible alarms and wanted to.

One point to remember when criticising the "Nanny State" legislation, is that house fires often affect the poorest households and children are particularly vulnerable.

Personally, I prefer to leave phrases such as "Nanny State" to the Daily Mail etc.

Sorry, that's a bit harsh; I know most tabloid editors are living in low income blocks of flats...

Cakeguts

PeterJones2018 wrote: »

Smoke detectors can be interlinked using wireless radio signals.

I could probably link with my neighbours alarms, if we bought compatible alarms and wanted to.

One point to remember when criticising the "Nanny State" legislation, is that house fires often affect the poorest households and children are particularly vulnerable.

Personally, I prefer to leave phrases such as "Nanny State" to the Daily Mail etc.

Sorry, that's a bit harsh; I know most tabloid editors are living in low income blocks of flats...

Poorer households are also the ones where people are more likely to smoke and disable the fire alarms so that they don't have to go outside to smoke. You can get them to put the fire alarms in but unless you go round periodically and check that they still have them there is every chance that the fire alarms will mysteriously disappear or break often in households where both parents smoke. The law is unenforcable you can't make someone keep a fire alarm in their house if they want to smoke in the house. You would have to be round there checking every other day. We have had tenants in the past who have taken the batteries out of smoke alarms so that they don't go off everytime they smoke.

Mojisola

Cakeguts wrote: »

The law is unenforcable you can't make someone keep a fire alarm in their house if they want to smoke in the house.

We have had tenants in the past who have taken the batteries out of smoke alarms so that they don't go off everytime they smoke.

And there will always be some people like that - just as some people don't wear a seatbelt or still break in houses and steal stuff - but the law will set the norm.