R&R Final PDF's November '17 cc

Kitchens & Bathrooms
Most fires start in
kitchens and heat
alarms are essential
Kitchen Warnings
Refurbishing and refitting kitchens provides an ideal opportunity to fit heat and CO
alarms and substantially improve safety and peace of mind for little additional cost,
as Kidde Safety Europe explains.
Over 60% of domestic fires start in
kitchens and, as the Scottish
Technical Standards point out: “a
significant number of fire related deaths
(62%), occur from fires started in living
rooms and kitchens. It is therefore important
that the outbreak of fire in living rooms and
kitchens is detected quickly and the alarm
raised as early as possible during the early
stages of fire growth.” Despite this, and
contrasting with the Code of Practice BS
5839-6:2013, Approved Document B for
England and Wales requires heat alarms
only where a kitchen is not separated from
the circulation by a door.
But a closed door reduces the passage of
smoke through to the other side and delays
triggering any smoke alarm there. Similarly, it
reduces the passage of sound from a corridor
smoke alarm, limiting the ability of occupants
on the other side to hear it. So, a kitchen fire
could take hold, affect building fabric and
services such as gas, and start moving
through the building before alarms sound.
And, will occupants in living rooms or
bedrooms with doors closed hear and be
awoken by the alarm anyway?
Although some kitchen fires are started
accidentally by occupants, many other less
obvious sources can go unnoticed – notably
faulty electrical appliances. This is a
particularly dangerous situation with
appliances operating at night on low tariff
electricity while occupants sleep. Without
doubt, heat alarms are essential in all kitchens
and utility rooms, for housing of all types and
tenures – new or old.
Low energy mains smoke and heat alarms
minimise running costs for tenants
Fire & CO together
Kidde believes that there is also a strong case
for installing carbon monoxide alarms at the
same time as smoke and heat alarms, sharing
the Scottish Government’s view in its recent
consultation that: “…it makes practical sense
to combine installation programmes for fire
and smoke alarms and carbon monoxide
alarms together”.
Mains CO alarms can be fitted
together with smoke & heat alarms
and interlinked to provide a
comprehensive system
Of course, kitchen and utility rooms with
boilers should have CO alarms but
combustion cooking appliances are a risk as
well. For example, annual gas safety checks
may exclude the tenant’s cooker where it is
not the landlord’s property, posing an
increasing risk, and there have been several
instances of faulty grills on almost new
cookers causing death and injury.
Sometimes fitting a battery-only CO alarm
may be simpler and Kidde’s 10LLCO is the
only range of 10-year guaranteed alarms with
CO sensors – the key component – actually
tested throughout a 10-year period or longer.
Alternatively, mains CO alarms are easily
installed together with hard-wired smoke and
heat alarms. But considered as a system, they
can offer extra safety features as well. Kidde’s
4MCO and 4MDCO hard-wired CO alarms
can not only be interlinked with each other
but also with the company’s latest Firex range
of hard-wired smoke and heat alarms, using
the unique ‘Smart Interconnect’ feature. Here,
all the interconnected alarms can act as
sounders to alert of either risk, forming
comprehensive systems.
Crucially, the alarms have different, distinct
alarm sounder patterns for carbon monoxide
and fire, as required by BS 5839-6. They can
automatically alert occupants of the specific
hazard allowing them to respond quickly,
making the right choice from the very
different alternative actions for either fire or
carbon monoxide. As a straightforward, low
cost early warning, smoke, heat and CO
alarms should be considered as an essential
first step for fire safety, whatever other
measure are taken, to make all housing safer.
For more information, call: 03337 722 227,
email: sales@kiddesafety.co.uk or visit the
website.
www.kiddesafetyeurope.co.uk
34 Refurb retrofit
magazine
November 2017 R6