An interlinked fire alarm system recently played a vital role in saving the life of a tenant living in a property owned by Melville Housing in Scotland.
Neighbours were alerted to the fire in Mayfield, Dalkeith, when home-safety specialist Aico’s Multi-Sensor Alarm was activated and began to sound. Although the resident was initially unable to respond, neighbours who heard the alarms through the wall were able to wake them so they could get to safety.
Interlinked alarms
The fire started in the main bedroom of the property while the occupant slept downstairs. The flames moved quickly through to the upstairs hallway and activated alarms which were interlinked and located throughout the property.
Thanks to the AudioLink+ function of the Aico 3000 Series alarms, Melville Housing was able to review the data after the incident, which showed a peak temperature within the home of 102C, with carbon monoxide levels of 450ppm, nine times above the safe limit.
David Todd, property manager, Melville Housing, said, “After speaking with the fire service, neighbours and the tenant of the property, it’s clear that the smoke and heat detection is very likely to have saved the occupant’s life.
“The fire started upstairs in the property, with all alarms sounding due to them being interlinked. The occupant, who has complex needs, was unable to recognise the dangers but neighbours alerted him by banging on the door and signalling through the window. Thankfully, the occupant was ushered to safety and is now fine. The neighbours were alerted due to the noise from the alarms themselves.
“With us being able to take readings from the smoke alarms, which showed temperatures of over 100C and carbon monoxide being nine times the safe limit, it left us in no doubt that the alarms were working, did their job and played a significant part in keeping everyone safe. The law on fire alarms means all Scottish homes need to have interlinked alarms, which this incident has proved is very important.”
Life-saving peace of mind
Neal Hooper, managing director, Aico, said, “Lives were saved, which is the most important thing. This really brings home the importance of life safety and of having things in your home which give you peace of mind every time you go to bed. If the alarms hadn’t alerted the neighbours and, ultimately, the tenant, a tragedy would surely have occurred. Instead, everyone was evacuated from the property and didn’t come to any lasting harm.
“Fire and carbon monoxide alarms are critical life-safety devices, and this example, along with many others, is testament to the hard work and dedication we give to our products to ensure they perform as expected when they are needed.
“Too often people will wait until there is increased legislation and regulation before they’re forced into taking life safety seriously. We do need better and clear legislation, but at the same time there are relatively inexpensive options which can be fitted to give you peace of mind.”
Quality & functionality
All Aico alarms are manufactured in-house at Aico’s factory in Shannon, Ireland, and each alarm is individually tested multiple times before it leaves the factory to ensure high quality functionality and quick responses.
Aico’s Hooper said, “This incident illustrates the importance of everyone having functional, compliant smoke alarm and CO systems in their home. People often think nothing like this will happen to them, but it can, and it’s important to stress to regularly test all of their alarms to make sure they’re working and to check their expiry date.”
Melville Housing has been working with Aico for a number of years and about 95 per cent of alarms in its properties have been supplied by Aico.
Melville Housing’s Todd said, “Aico facilitates a number of roundtable events with housing providers which are very well received and where we can share important knowledge about fire safety including smoke alarms and fire doors.”
You can learn more about Aico and its life-saving alarm systems at aico.co.uk.
