The smoke detector is arguably the most important mitigator in fire risk assessment. They are, of course, crucial for giving occupants early warning indication of a fire and are used to mitigate extended travel distances and risks associated with inner rooms. They can also be used in more complex installations to operate smoke ventilation systems, shut fire doors and a myriad of more life safety-critical functions. It is no surprise that it is vital that the smoke detector sounds quickly to alert occupants before a fire is a blazing inferno.
What might surprise you is that smoke detectors have a shelf life due to environmental factors and general deterioration of the component parts.
It is interesting then, as we know smoke detectors deteriorate over time, that there is nothing in place within the current industry standards which gives a replacement schedule. The only existing guidelines are manufacturer recommendations which are often interpreted as a money-making swindle.
Back in the early noughties, I worked for a large national fire and security business which initiated an annual maintenance and replacement program for devices over 10 years old. The detectors were removed and sent away for refurbishment and replaced with refurbished models.
In 2015 one of the company’s customers had a fire in a storeroom at their multi-story office block. When the smoke got onto the escape route and reached the smoke detector nothing happened. Fortunately, a security guard spotted the smoke on a CCTV and raised the alarm. During the investigation, the CCTV showed that the engineer had tested the device the week before and the smoke detector sounded as expected. On closer inspection, we saw that the smoke spray was “injected” into the chamber whereas, in the real-life fire, the smoke did not behave like that and flowed in naturally.
Leave A Comment