Worried about house fire even more than usual after watching Tv programme last night. Whats everyones fire drill? How do you escape a fire if you have small children who can't climb out of windows etc - tie them to you somehow? Is having a smoke alarm in every room going to give you enough warning to get out the front door?
Fire safety?
- Thread starter Toby
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DrMoriarty
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There are some useful tips [broken link removed] (see particularly the Escape Drill section).
[Edit: just noticed it doesn't cover your particular question. Ideally, I guess, one adult goes first and the other lowers/drops them down... presuming there is more than one adult there!
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[Edit: just noticed it doesn't cover your particular question. Ideally, I guess, one adult goes first and the other lowers/drops them down... presuming there is more than one adult there!
]
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X-Man
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smoke alarms will save your life.
X-Man said:
A working smoke alarm may save your life. I work in the industry so I'm very familiar with Fire Safety Certificates etc. We have two mains wired smoke alarms, an ABC powder extinguisher and a fire blanket in the kitchen. The most important thing for people to remember is not to lock themselves into their own homes- by that I mean that if you have a Munster Joinery type door be sure that the key to open it (from the inside) is located nearby! I don't know what the statistics are but most fires are very preventable; a lot of fires start as a result of the obvious dirty grill pan, unattended candles, poor wiring/ faulty electrical equipment and smouldering cigarettes.
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X-Man
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Carpenter said:
so whats the answer!!!!! SMOKE ALARM theres no smoke without fire and vis versa so an operational smoke alarm is essential and has proven to save lifes.we all know how fires start but if you don't have an alarm its silent and fumes will kill you.i also work in this area and 85% of house fires are in the kitchen resulting from those deadly chip pans never ever have a chip pan...........and never ever put water on a chip pan
My point is this: a fire alarm that is not working, fitted with a dead battery etc is worthless. In fact the merits of a battery operated fire alarm (ie not a mains/ hard wired alarm) are dubious. Grade E and F type alarm systems (which are battery only operated or mains only operated) are not acceptable for new houses (See Part B, Buil;ding Regulations 2006).
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X-Man
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Carpenter said:
agreed 100%
hullabaloo
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Toby,
Intersting topic - I have often wondered how I alone would manage to get my two toddlers out if we are upstairs and access downstairs was "blocked". Years ago a neighbour had a firecracker thrown through her letterbox on Halloween night "for a joke" and the hall went up in flames. (Fortunately they all got out unharmed as it was a bungalow but if that happened if the average semi-d it might have been a completely different outcome as smoke alarms were unheard of in those days.)
In an emergency, I'd imagine that I'd be grabbing sheets and tying them around the kids before lowering them down. Somehow I think I'd be better heading for the front of the house so that the neighbours could grab them. But its impossible to forecast what the best way of evacuating the house is until the situation arises.
L.
Intersting topic - I have often wondered how I alone would manage to get my two toddlers out if we are upstairs and access downstairs was "blocked". Years ago a neighbour had a firecracker thrown through her letterbox on Halloween night "for a joke" and the hall went up in flames. (Fortunately they all got out unharmed as it was a bungalow but if that happened if the average semi-d it might have been a completely different outcome as smoke alarms were unheard of in those days.)
In an emergency, I'd imagine that I'd be grabbing sheets and tying them around the kids before lowering them down. Somehow I think I'd be better heading for the front of the house so that the neighbours could grab them. But its impossible to forecast what the best way of evacuating the house is until the situation arises.
L.
PGD1 said:
There was a very good one in Aldi about two weeks ago for €34.99 but they sold out very quickly. When I enquired about them in other branches they told me that they were a new product that they were trying out and because they sold so quickly they would probably be in again but they did not have an exact timescale
Fire extinguishers etc. also sold out quickly.
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X-Man
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in the event of a fire,phone fire services and keep all doors closed.by keeping doors closed you are limiting oxygen to the source(the fire) and containing the fire to that rom alone.
Lots of my friends keep their upstairs windows locked to stop their small kids getting out and big dark strangers getting in. I was in a fire as a child and if the windows had been locked I would not be here to tell you about it. A fire drill and assembly point are essential, tell your kids to get out stay out if the alarm goes off, if you have a sensible assembly point that can be seen from the house you wont have a situation of adults going looking for kids that have already escaped. Kids are pretty inventive and a child as young as 2 can be taught to close their bedroom door and climb out onto a windowsill to wait for help if their escape route is blocked. a child's instint is to hide so make sure even tiny ones know that if the alarm goes off hiding is not a good idea or show them where to hide so you can find them. As regards getting out windows with small kids, they can hang on pretty tight if they have to.
Its an awful thought but I'm sure my 3 year old would hang on tight alright. Don't know about my 10 mth old though. Don't like the idea of leaving windows unlocked or teaching them how to climb out window themselves. We only have a heat detector wired in our kitchen - is this sufficient or should we have a battery powered smoke alarm also?
DrMoriarty
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You should have at least one, and preferably two working smoke alarms on each floor of the house. They cost <€5 each...sueellen said:There was a very good one in Aldi about two weeks ago for €34.99 but they sold out very quickly. When I enquired about them in other branches they told me that they were a new product that they were trying out and because they sold so quickly they would probably be in again but they did not have an exact timescale
Fire ladders were back in to-day so was sure to get in the queue before 12oc opening. Was amused to see they had only six available and this was in a very busy branch. They were sold out within 5 mins
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z107
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I have a smoke alarm that's wired to the mains, but also has a battery. When the battery runs out, it makes an annoying sound - so this is where you don't have a spare 9v battery and just leave the alarm not functioning.
Why can't smoke alarm companies make smoke alarms with rechargeable batteries that constantly recharge off the mains?
Why can't smoke alarm companies make smoke alarms with rechargeable batteries that constantly recharge off the mains?
Every house should have at least one key-less exit - that was the regulation at one time anyway. Those "Munster Joinery type Doors" that someone mentioned in an earlier reply are called Multi Point Locking Doors - the cylinder on them can be changed to a tumb-turn cylinder. You need a key to operate from outside to get in, but from inside you only need to turn a knob. (not a great plan if small children in house).
You can also get a nightlatch to suit this type door (Rebated Door) which would solve the problem of small children as you would also have a lock high up again which would not need a key to open from the inside.
The problem with locked windows in a serious one - AFAIK the fire regulations have changed in the last few weeks and now you MUST have a restrictor on a fire ope window. This regulation will only apply to planning granted to houses since june/july this year - therefore I am sure there will be a few products coming on the market which will enable people to put a restrictor onto their existing fire openings - and not before time either!
You can also get a nightlatch to suit this type door (Rebated Door) which would solve the problem of small children as you would also have a lock high up again which would not need a key to open from the inside.
The problem with locked windows in a serious one - AFAIK the fire regulations have changed in the last few weeks and now you MUST have a restrictor on a fire ope window. This regulation will only apply to planning granted to houses since june/july this year - therefore I am sure there will be a few products coming on the market which will enable people to put a restrictor onto their existing fire openings - and not before time either!