Dear LPG, 

I wrote a message about smoke alarms not so long ago in an attempt to remind readers just how important they are because of those odourless, but extremely poisonous gases that they can make us aware of during the summer months as well as the winter (►►►).   But perhaps I should have also put more emphasis on the good old fashioned fire alarm as well.

I have found out that they are both as important as each other but are each more effective in different parts of the house.  Apparently smoke detectors are more effective in most rooms while fire alarms which detect heat rather than smoke work better when it comes to protecting the ‘steamier’ rooms of the house such as kitchens and bathrooms.

I did mention before that they do need to be tested but I took the time to look up how often with a surprising result.  The advice is that we should all be testing once a week and that is the government recommendation for all public buildings too.  Do you remember when we used to be more aware of fire alarm testing in public places?  The internet tells that the British Standard (BS 5839) recommends weekly testing for fire alarms in all public buildings. Perhaps they wait until closing times these days.

It also occurred to me that I totally forgot to research how to test them, so I have found a few snippets of information on the internet to update on that score.

So, perhaps all those older, shorter or a little more unsteady members of society (and I count myself in all three of those categories), need to get our younger and taller visitors reaching up to the ceiling a bit more often when they come to visit. 

 PF, Ladywell

PF offers what she has found… 

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