Protect Your Home Or Investment With Smoke Alarms

When you are buying or selling a home, you have a checklist of things that need to be present or things to be done in order for it to be 'sellable'. At the top of the list should be smoke alarms. By law, all residential homes in NSW should have one. Taking appropriate steps to having smoke alarms installed could save lives. Sadly, from 2000 to June 2005, 144 deaths occurred due to house fires in NSW. According to research, one third to half of these may not have happened if there were working smoke alarms installed in the home.

Smoke alarms - the law

Smoke alarms, which at times are incorrectly called smoke detectors, were required to be installed in homes from 1 May 2006 and must comply with AS3786. Specifically, there needs to be a minimum of one for each level of the home and is necessary in any residential building someone may sleep. What was concerning was that in 2007 research into smoke alarms was conducted and found that 6% of homes in NSW did not have smoke alarms installed. Any new buildings being built and any undergoing renovations are also required to have installed smoke alarms. This is according to The Building Legislation Amendment (Smoke Alarms) Act 2005 and the Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Smoke Alarms) Regulation. Smoke alarms in rent Macarthur must be in working order and are not to be removed or interfered with. Failure to comply with the legislation is an offence and can result in a maximum penalty of $550.

Smoke alarms need to be installed in rental properties, owner occupied and relocatable homes. This includes terrace houses, town houses, caretaker flats, detached houses, residences above shops and relocatable homes. Shared accommodation is also required to have alarms, such places like guest houses, backpacker accommodation, hostels and boarding houses. If the residential property in mind does not have smoke alarms, get them installed. They are life saving and will identify smoke long before the sleeping occupants can. Having smoke alarms in a home will offer significant seconds of time in order to save lives and if possible, property. It is recommended you test all your smoke alarms once a month and be cleaned every six months with a vacuum cleaner. Batteries should be replaced according to the type of battery used.