Innovative fire alarm system helps save life of resident in serious house fire

An interlinked fire and carbon monoxide alarm system played a vital role in saving the life of a tenant living in a social housing property in Scotland.

Neighbours were alerted to the fire in Dalkeith, near Edinburgh, when home safety specialist Aico’s multi-sensor alarm was activated and began to sound. While 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.

The fire started in the main bedroom of the property, which is owned by Melville Housing Association, whilst the occupant slept downstairs.

The flames moved quickly through to the upstairs hallway and activated alarms which were interlinked and located throughout the property.

Due to the AudioLINK+ function on the Aico alarms, the landlord was able to review the data following the incident, which showed a peak temperature within the home of 102C, with carbon monoxide levels of 450ppm (parts per million) – nine times the safe limit.

David Todd, Property Manager for Melville Housing Association, said: “After speaking with the fire service, neighbours and the tenants 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 in the upstairs of the property with all alarms sounding due to being interlinked.

“The occupant, who has complex needs, was unable to recognise the dangers, however neighbours alerted him by banging on the door and signalling through the window.

“Thankfully, the occupant was ushered away 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 off 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.”

Neal Hooper, Managing Director at 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 had not alerted the neighbours and, ultimately, the tenants, a tragedy would surely have occurred. Instead, everyone was evacuated from the property and did not 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 are 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.”

All Aico alarms are manufactured in-house, and each alarm is individually tested multiple times before it leaves the factory.

“This incident illustrates the importance of everyone having working, 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,” Neal added.

Melville Housing Association has been working with Aico for a number of years and about 95 per cent of alarms in its properties have been supplied by the manufacturer.

“Aico facilitates a number of roundtable events with housing associations which are very well received and where we are able to share important knowledge about fire safety including smoke alarms and fire doors,” David added.