Have you seen the Silence is Deadly video campaign launched by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and Country Fire Authority, announcing new guidelines for Victorian smoke alarm safety?

The chilling campaign is aimed at Victorian residents—but have you thought about what it means for property managers and landlords? Tenant safety is after all, the landlord’s responsibility.

Key takeaways from the campaign:

The campaign was launched in response to new research, which showed that the majority of Victorian homes are at risk as they are not practising adequate smoke alarm safety.

One in five homes only had one smoke alarm in the home, and less than half of the people surveyed cleaned their smoke alarms annually.

In response to the research, the campaign recommends that Victorian homeowners install smoke alarms in every bedroom, where 25% of fatal fires are started.

While this is a new recommendation, it’s important for landlords and property managers to understand that legislation regarding smoke alarm placement has not changed.

Detector Inspector maintains smoke alarms in accordance with the Building Code Regulations, Australian Standards AS3786 and relevant state-based legislation. In Victorian residences, smoke alarms must be installed:

• On or near the ceiling (in accordance with strict regulations) on every storey
• Between each part of the dwelling containing bedrooms and other parts of the dwelling
• Where bedrooms are served by a hallway, in that hallway
• And serviced regularly according to a number of guidelines.

Find out more about Detector Inspector’s smoke alarm services here.

Although it’s not a legal requirement to install smoke alarms in every bedroom, the new research is a timely reminder that the risk of house fire is real, and only working smoke alarms save lives.

Do you need a compliance check-in?

When we attend properties for the first time, typically 1 out of 3 smoke alarms aren’t working properly and need to be replaced. Many landlords don’t understand the complicated guidelines for smoke alarm safety, and they let safety measures lapse.

If you’re a landlord or property manager, you’re responsible for making sure smoke alarms are correctly installed and maintained, or you could be held liable in case of a safety incident.

In light of the new guidelines from the MFB and CFA, this is a great time to check in on compliance at your properties.

If you’re a property manager, call us on 1300 134 563 to organise a simple digital audit of your properties. We can email all your non-enrolled landlords to explain their obligations and allow them to opt-in to our smoke alarm safety program online. Thereafter, our custom-built systems simplify your life, automatically maintaining enrolments and checking in with non-enrolled landlords once a year, so you can feel confident you’ve met your duty of care to keep your landlords informed.

If you’re a property owner, call us on 1300 134 563 to enrol your property in our watertight, automatic smoke alarm maintenance system. Or ask your property manager to enrol your property.