Fire Safety

Hard-wired for sound: Love to hate your smoke alarm.

We all know that an accidentally triggered smoke alarm can be a frustrating experience. But with one in three battery operated smoke alarms failing in a house fire - most often because the battery has been removed - the Fire Kills campaign is reminding people that there is a very good reason why we all hate the sound of a smoke alarm.

Evolutionary Instincts

Everything about the pitch, volume and pattern of a smoke alarm are designed to trigger instinctive danger responses in all of us. With the alarm pitched at the most sensitive range of human hearing (3,000Hz), a triggered alarm will instantly grab the attention.

All smoke alarms have to be capable of waking an adult from deep sleep, which means they must sound at a minimum of 85 decibels from three metres away - thats the same volume as a bus passing through your living room!

 

A Matter of Life and Death

Never, ever remove the batteries in your alarm. It may be frustrating to find your fry-up has set it off again, but a working smoke alarm could mean the difference between life and death in a real house fire.

 

Fire Safety in the Home

For lots of helpful advice and tips about fire safety in the home, click here to visit the fire safety pages at www.direct.gov.uk, the government website for information and public services. It includes information about:

• cooking safely
• planning a safe escape
• electrical appliance fire safety
• smoke alarms
• fire safety for parents and child carers
• support after a fire

For your free home fire safety check, visit the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service website at www.lancsfirerescue.org.uk, or call 0800 1691125.