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Keeping Families Safe with Smoke Alarm Best Practice

With the new smoke alarm legislation changes fast approaching in Queensland there is a new Gold Standard in making sure you and your family sleep safely in your home.

While the legislation changes apply to investment properties, for now, the guidelines offer great advice for everyone. 

Early warning is key and the new alarm models detect slow smouldering fires, the starting point for a fire disaster.

If you want to keep your family safe you need to prepare for the unexpected and make sure you have fire warning precautions in place.  Fires occurring while you are asleep poses the greatest risk to your life and general safety. It is critical that you have a system in place that is going to wake you up should this occur.  QLD Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) recommends interconnected photoelectric alarms be installed in all bedrooms, as well as outside bedrooms and on every level of the dwelling.

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Check Systems works with property professionals to ensure investment properties meet the QFES guidelines that are legislated for rental properties.  Their friendly team installs and maintains the latest alarm systems.  They approach every home with a polite and conscientious attitude.  With tightening regulations, it is more important than ever that homes have their smoke alarms inspected on time and inspectors need to cooperate well with home occupants for this to occur.

Top smoke alarm tips for families

Smoke Alarm best practice
  • Be smart about brand choices when installing. Make sure it is easy to replace just one broken alarm in the future, rather than the whole system.
  • Make sure you have a fire escape plan! Everybody should have a plan for how they might escape should they get woken by a fire warning in the middle of the night.  If your bedrooms are high up, think about how you might be able to escape safely externally.
  • Every 6 months vacuum and test your smoke alarms to ensure the built in sensor is not compromised.

Top compliance tips for investors and property managers:

  • Ensure smoke alarms are always serviced 30 days prior to a new lease or lease renewal, this is crucial.
  • Agents and investors should implement a system for maintaining smoke alarms correctly. Smoke alarm companies provide this service for a relatively small fee.
  • Evidence based reporting. This provides a benchmark and confirms legal compliance at a point in time.

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Photo Attribution: Photo by Alexander Drummer on Unsplash

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Janine Mergler

Janine Mergler is a veteran Queensland teacher, graduating from QUT with a BEd majoring in Social Sciences. After many years in the classroom, Janine moved on to academia. She has proudly trained new generations of teachers in her role as a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Education. She has also worked in the Queensland Government as an education specialist, developing education resources and delivering community awareness programs to help families conserve water. Currently she is the owner and editor of Families Magazine, a publication specifically targeted at parents who value a quality education for children.  Janine leads a team of professionals who write about family lifestyle, early childhood, schools and education information and family-friendly events.

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