Location and positioning
Sufficient smoke must enter your smoke alarm before it will respond. Your smoke alarm
needs to be within 7.5 meters (25 ft.) of the fire to respond quickly. Your smoke alarms
also need to be in positions where they can be heard throughout the property, so they
can wake you and your family in time for everyone to escape. A single smoke alarm will
give some protection if it is properly installed, but most homes will require two or more to
ensure that a reliable early warning is given. For recommended protection you should put
individual smoke alarms in all rooms where fire is most likely to break out (apart from the
kitchen and bathroom).
Your first smoke alarm should be located between the sleeping area and the most likely
sources of fire (living room for example), but it should not be more than 7.5 meters (25 ft.)
from the door to any room where a fire may start and block your escape from the house.
Single storey dwelling
If your home is on one level, you should put your first smoke alarm in a corridor or hallway
between the sleeping and living areas. Place it as near to the living area as possible, but
make sure you can hear it loudly enough to wake you in the bedroom, see
Figure 1
.
Preferably the smoke alarms should be connected to a Visit receiver so as to give an addi-
tional warning throughout the property.
If your home is very large and the corridor or hallway is more than say 15 metres (50 ft.)
long, one smoke alarm will not be sufficient. This is because no matter where it is located
it will be more than 7.5 metres (25 ft.) from potential fires.
Minimum protection level
On each storey
In each sleeping area
Every 7.5 metres of hallways & rooms
Within 3 metres of all bedroom doors
In houses with more than one sleeping area, smoke alarms should be placed between
each sleeping area and the living area, see
Figure 2
.
Multi Storey Dwellings
If your home has more than one floor, at least one smoke alarm should be fitted on each
level, see
Figure 3
.
Connecting the smoke alarms to one or several Visit receivers will help to ensure that the
alarm is noticed throughout the property.
Recommended Protection
Fire authorities recommend you put individual smoke alarms in or near all the rooms
where fire is most likely to break out (apart from the locations to avoid, mentioned below).
The living room is the most likely place for a fire to start at night, followed by the kitchen
and then the dining room. You should also consider putting smoke alarms in any bed-
rooms where fires might occur, for instance, where there is an electrical appliance such as
an electric blanket or heater, or where the occupant is a smoker. You could also consider
putting smoke alarms in any rooms where the occupant is unable to respond very well to
a fire starting in the room, such as an elderly or sick person or a very young child.
Checking alarms can be heard
With the alarms sounding in their intended locations check that the alarm can be heard
in each bedroom with the door closed, above the sound of any TV/audio systems. The TV/
audio systems should be set to a reasonably loud conversation level. If you cannot hear
the alarm over the sound of the TV/audio system, the chances are it would not wake you.
Connecting the smoke alarms to one or several Visit receivers will help to ensure that the
alarm is noticed throughout the property.
Recommended protection level
in addition
In every room, except
bathrooms and kitchens
Figure 1
Single storey dwelling
Figure 2
Single storey dwelling
with separate sleeping areas
Bedroom
Bath
room
Kitchen
Dining room
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bedroom
Bath
room
Kitchen
Dining room
Living room
Bedroom
Figure 3
Multi storey dwelling
28
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EN
Summary of Contents for VISIT BE1551
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