Smoke alarms, do you have them?

knightstyle

Just moved into our 1980s new house and realised there are no smoke alarms.  House has been updated, new bathroom and kitchen etc. 
Just wondered if anyone in this day and age does not have them?
Obviously they are top of the to do list along with a carbon monoxide detector.

sammyjammy

Yes, three floors in my house a wired in smoke alarm on each floor, a requirement when my house was rewired.

greatcrested

What a strange question.

Whether or not people here have them, you have to make your own decision regarding risk-taking, and the value you place on your property and your life.

For around £25 you can get 2 smoke alarms and a CO alarm. Reduce that overall cost to you as house insurance may be cheaper with them.

Weigh that against the stress of rebuilding your home, or finding a new partner, after a fire.

Your choice, not ours.

davidmcn

knightstyle said:

Just wondered if anyone in this day and age does not have them?

Well, obviously some don't, as you've discovered! Not a general legal requirement if owner-occupied (though about to be in Scotland).

Mnoee

The fire brigade were nice enough to install two in my hallways for me, to complement my two heat alarms in kitchen and outbuilding plus carbon monoxide detectors near the boiler and wood burning stove. Can't put a price on safety! Don't forget a fire blanket for your kitchen and a suitable extinguisher if you're confident in using one. 

gingerdad

of course - when we redid our last house and when we put in a hard wired system, when we sort this one we will do the same in the mean time just bought a couple off amazon for £20.00

RelievedSheff

We moved into a new build so it has hard wired smoke alarms and CO alarm.

The 1930's semi we moved from didn't have any.

steph2901

Yes, my 80s house had a wired one when we moved in, otherwise I would've bought a couple.

Doozergirl

We've spent a lot on smart Nest combined smoke and CO alarms.  I think they're genuinely lifesaving.  

https://store.google.com/gb/product/nest_protect_2nd_gen?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9bf84em07wIVQdPtCh3OnglrEAAYASAAEgK5GPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

They don't start chirping like *******s in the middle of the night as they'll tell you politely on your phone if the batteries are running low.  

If you're burning toast, the nice lady's voice warns you well in advance of the screaming that then sets the dogs off and everyone waving tea towels under them like lunatics and hunting for a broom handle at the same time.  

You can silence her on your phone.  

Sotts

We have hard wired in our new build.  One goes off, causes every other one to go off.
Strangely one is directly above the oven and it goes off whenever we open the oven door.  Even when there's no smoke.   Is that normal 

SameOldRoundabout

We have one on each floor, plus a CO2 alarm in the kitchen and the living room (log burner requirement). I really need another CO2 upstairs for the boiler I suppose. I would never risk not having smoke alarms, it’s too easy to sleep through smoke until it’s too late. 

When we do the hall/landings we will consider upgrading to a hard wired system.