BRE DG525 PDF

INTRODUCTION

The number of UK homes fitted with smoke alarms has risen from just 8% in 1988 to 91% in 2008, as a result of the changes to the Building Regulations Approved Document B – Fire Safety in 1992.

This has led to a dramatic reduction in deaths and injuries from household fires, but there are still more than 200 deaths and some 7500 injuries from the 36,000 dwelling fires attended by fire and rescue services every year. Many of these casualties could be avoided if people had early warning of fire and were able to escape in time.

A suitably specified, located and maintained smoke alarm can provide this warning by detecting smoke in the early stages of the fire and sounding an alarm. UK fire statistics show that you are almost twice as likely to die in a domestic fire where there is no working smoke alarm as you are where one is present.