Alarms – Check Them Weekly Says Fire Service

Published on: 30 Dec, 2023
Updated on: 30 Dec, 2023

Ellie Hayes says: “Smoke alarms save lives!”

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is urging people to prioritise home fire safety in 2024 by taking part in its #FireSafeResolution.

This new year initiative urges people to make a New Year’s resolution to check their fire alarms once a week.

Ellie Hayes, who works in SFRS’s Community Safety Team, said it’s essential that people have a working smoke alarm in their homes.

She said: “Smoke alarms save lives! Home fires can have devastating consequences, impacting lives and possessions but a working smoke alarm can mean the difference between life and death. The start of the new year provides a perfect opportunity to take proactive steps by making a resolution to regularly check your smoke alarms.

“A fully functioning smoke alarm can be a lifeline. I urge people to make a Fire Safe Resolution to set a weekly reminder on their phone to check their alarm is working. If it isn’t then perhaps a new battery is required or a new unit. It’s a small commitment but can make a world of difference!”

Ellie also encourages people to support elderly and vulnerable friends and family with this task and to get in touch with the service which can carry out a free “Safe and Well Visit” and provide personalised advice to the most vulnerable people in our community.

If you would like further support to help you identify the risks in your home, please take the free Home Fire Safety Check or book a Safe and Well Visit by visiting Surrey Fire and Rescue Service website or by calling 03456 009 009.

Responses to Alarms – Check Them Weekly Says Fire Service

Steven Wall Reply

January 29, 2024 at 8:17 am

We are two disabled tenants in a Guildford Borough Council bungalow. Our smoke alarm/detector is checked once a year when a gas boiler service is carried out.

The smoke alarm/detector has been passed as safe and working for the length of our tenancy (13 years). The gas engineer pressed the button on the alarm as the company do once a year and it sounded, he made a chance remark that the unit should be replaced after 10 years.

That chance remark got us to inspect the unit and the manufacturers marking on the unit states that it should be replaced by Oct 2015 as the sensors degrade over time. So we have a smoke alarm/detector which is eight years out of date, despite Guildford Borough Council passing it as safe every year.

Is our unit still safe?