At Detector Inspector, we take the safety of our clients' properties and tenants seriously. For quite some time now, we have gone beyond mere compliance with legal requirements in our smoke alarm service. Our goal is to create an environment that prioritises safety and addresses specific risks by strategically placing additional smoke alarms where needed. Below we will explain when we add an additional alarm, and changes to our service reports that will document whether its placement is based on a safety or compliance requirement.
Making safer homes is what we do. Throughout our 17 years of professional testing and maintenance, Detector Inspector has been at the forefront of safety and compliance and have pushed for innovation on a number of technology, training and product fronts. It is also in the space of smoke alarm safety, layout and design that we lead the way.
Every year we visit over 300,000 properties, and as experts, we regularly make decisions that balance legislation, smoke alarm technology and individual property requirements. One of our driving principles is safety first with compliance following a close second. With this principle behind our decision making, we regularly include additional alarms outside of the National Construction Code to ensure safer homes at no extra cost to our fixed fee smoke alarm service customers.
Whilst we have done this for some time, we have recently made steps to improve documentation of what is required alarm for safety vs a legislated requirement with the aim of making landlords and property managers better informed. Below we will explain when we add an additional alarm and the changes you will see in our service reports.
Smoke alarm placement and design
Reviewing smoke alarm placement is one of the most important elements of every service we undertake. Smoke alarms only save lives if they are correctly positioned and operating as intended.
The principle that guides our review, is that for smoke alarms to effectively do their job of alerting occupants to a fire, they need to do so early enough that a sleeping person has time to escape. For this to be the case, it is a requirement that occupants not only wake up before the fire reaches the bedroom, but they also have a safe exit pathway that is not overcome by smoke or fire.
If following the current National Construction Code (NCC) which governs the building design and smoke alarm placement for all properties built in Australia, for certain floorplans an exit path smoke or fire free is not guaranteed.
Smoke alarm system design in the NCC is built on a few basic principles:
- Most house fires occur in ‘living zone’ of properties. This includes main common areas, dining/living rooms and the kitchen.
- Smoke alarms are intended to detect smoke before it reaches sleeping area. They are designed to wake the occupants and give them time to evacuate.
- Optimal placement for a smoke alarm is in between these two spaces.
If following the code, the alarm layout will wake the occupant before the fire reaches the sleeping area, however it won’t always assure a safe exit.
An example where the occupant could be unsafe
Below is a floor plan to a typical new development, 2-bedroom 1 bathroom apartment.
Using this example we will take a look at the risks and considerations by including just the green alarm required in accordance with the NCC and also the implications of installing an additional red alarm to give a chance for safe exit.
Understanding this, for the last 15 plus years, we have felt it essential to include the additional ‘for safety’ alarm, outside of the NCC requirements, that would align with our threshold for optimal tenant safety. To find out more about how we categorise smoke alarms, read our Help Centre article here.
Interconnection
The inclusion of interconnection regulations in the Building Code of Australia (BCA) 2014 (E2.2a and Part 3.7.5) is an important aspect of ensuring the effectiveness of multiple alarms in a property. In the past, our processes marked properties as non-compliant if the additional 'for safety' alarm was not interconnected with the required alarm as mandated by the NCC.
Whilst this inclusion has been covered under our fixed-fee smoke alarm service without an additional cost to owners. We recognise that when reviewing in line with the NCC, there could be cause for misunderstanding. By identifying the alarms role in making the property safe and compliant, we ensure that our customers are well informed.
Service Reports - what’s changing
In the near future, we will be making important changes to our procedures.
When we attend a property and provide a service report, the absence of interconnection between the 'Required for Safety Alarm' and the 'Required by NCC Alarm' will no longer mark the initial assessment of property as "non-compliant".
We recognise for owners understanding their position relative to their compliance obligations needs to be clear, and our revised approach aims to make it clear the distinction between what is a safety related issue VS a compliance one. We will continue to provide the 'Required for Safety' alarm within our fixed-fee smoke service at no extra cost to owners, ensuring optimal safety measures are in place for tenants' peace of mind.
By implementing these changes, we retain our commitment to safety and compliance, whilst also keeping the service documentation simple to navigate for property manager and owners alike.
