Smoke Detectors - Not The Sole Answer To Fire Safety

Regular maintenance, common sense and vigilance are the key, says home insurer, Direct Line

More than 18 million Britons fail to make adequate checks that their home smoke alarm is working, despite Government advice that smoke detectors should be tested on a monthly basis, according to new research from leading home insurer Direct Line.

Only 48% of those who have a smoke alarm installed in their homes say they tested it in the last month, while a total of 13% - around 4.5 million - say they've never tested it or last checked it over a year ago.

Published to coincide with the start of national Fire Safety Week (September 1-8), Direct Line's research highlights the comparatively low regard that people appear to pay to preventing and dealing with fire in the home.

Last year, insurance claims for domestic fires cost 163333m (Source: ABI), an increase of 16% on the previous year's figure of 163286m, however, not all domestic fires result in an insurance claim.

Even though 78% of the adult population (35 million people) say they have a smoke detector installed in their home, the survey undertaken by MORI on Direct Line's behalf reveals only 23% have a fire escape plan for their homes.

According to the latest British Crime Survey (Source: 2000 British Crime Survey) of the 664,000 domestic fires estimated in England and Wales in 1999, two thirds of domestic fires start in the kitchen (66%) and accidents while cooking are the most common cause of fire (59%).

However, according to the BCS, only 12% of domestic fires were discovered through a smoke alarm. In two thirds of cases, the fire was either detected by someone smelling smoke (33%) or by someone being in the room when the fire started (33%). One in five fires (20%) 'just happened to be found'.

Although smoke alarms were activated by the fire in 42% of cases, the most common reason given for a detector not working was that it was too far away from the fire (mentioned by 48% of those whose alarm was not triggered) while a further 30% had managed to extinguish the fire before the alarm activated.

Worryingly, however, in a further 14% of cases where an alarm failed to operate, the reason given was that the alarm was broken or there were no batteries present!

Commenting on the findings, Malcolm Cooper, Direct Line's home business manager, says:

"In our experience, people are four times more likely to be burgled than to experience a fire in their home but that is no reason to be complacent."

"Clearly, people do recognise the potential value of installing a smoke detector in their home but fire prevention and detection don't stop there. Common sense, vigilance and drawing up a safety plan for the home can all play a vital role in reducing the risk. Fire Safety Week serves as a timely reminder for everyone to review their own arrangements and see what simple measures they could introduce that might help make all the difference."

Appendices:

• Fire Safety Facts, including top line and key regional findings from Direct Line's fire safety survey.
• Advice on preventing and dealing with fire.

Technical details

Survey conducted by MORI Financial Services on behalf of Direct Line between August 2-7, 2001. A total of 1957 interviews were conducted face-to-face across Great Britain among adults aged 16 and over.

FIRE SAFETY FACTS

Key national and regional findings from Direct Line's fire safety survey

Ownership of smoke detectors:

• 78% of the adult population have a smoke detector installed in their home
• People living in rented accommodation are least likely to have a smoke detector installed (73%) in their home compared to 81% of those who have a mortgage.
• Those living with children in the household are more likely to have a smoke detector fitted (83%) compared to only 75% of those without children.
• Those living in the Yorkshire TV region are least likely to have a smoke detector installed in their homes (67%), followed by Carlton TV region (70%) and Granada TV region (72%).
• The Scottish are the most safety conscious with 93% having a smoke detector installed in their home followed by those living in the Central TV area (85%).

Maintenance of smoke detectors:

• 48% of those with a smoke detector have tested it in the last month. 13% have never tested it or last tested it over a year ago.
• Scots again are more likely to have checked their smoke detectors in the last month (54%) than those living in London (Carlton TV region) where 17% have not checked it in the last year if at all.

Fire Safety Awareness:

• Only 23% of the population say they have drawn up a fire escape plan for their home and 93% of those have made sure all household members are aware of it.
• Those with children are more likely to have drawn one up (27%) compared to those without children (21%).
• The Welsh are more likely to have drawn up an escape plan for their home (30%) and the Scots least likely (19%).