New Scottish legislation for Fire and Smoke alarms – are you compliant?

All homes in Scotland are required to meet the new legislation by February 2022.

Scottish legislation has changed. Introduced in February 2019, the change applies to all households in Scotland and must be met by February 2022. The new Scottish legislation states that an interlinked Fire and Smoke alarm system must be fitted in a property and that there should be adequate Carbon Monoxide protection.

Fire and Smoke alarms must be interlinked and this can be achieved via traditional cabling methods or wireless. This new legislation also requires a Carbon Monoxide detector to be installed where there is a fuel-burning appliance (such as boilers, fires, heaters and stoves) or where there is a flue. Homeowners and landlords must comply to the new Scottish legislation by February 2022.

All homes in Scotland will be covered by the new legislation, as it is important that all homes should be safe for occupants regardless of tenure. It will be the property owner’s responsibility to meet the new standard

If you already have Fire and Smoke alarms installed in your property, check that they are interlinked. If you have an alarm system but it does not currently meet the new requirements, you can expand your system with wireless interconnection. By having an interlinked system, the whole alarm system will be triggered if one alarm is activated meaning you are alerted immediately in the event of a fire.

By February 2022, all homes should have:

Smoke alarms in every circulation space on each storey, such as hallways and landings

• Smoke alarms installed in the room most frequently used for general daytime living purpose

• Heat alarms installed in every kitchen

• All smoke and heat alarms should be interlinked

• Carbon monoxide alarms to be fitted where there is a fuel burning appliance or a flue

• This applies to ALL homeowners and landlords

There are lots of different types of alarms available – which ones should I get?

There are two types of alarms that comply with the new standard:

1. Tamper proof long-life lithium battery alarms, or;

2. Mains-wired alarms, which are cheaper than tamper proof long-life battery alarms, but should be installed by a qualified electrician in accordance with BS7671.

Mains-wired alarms, however, are required to be installed by an electrician which will be an additional cost to homeowners. Any re-decoration to walls and/or ceilings should be taken into consideration.

If you would like a free quote on a new smoke alarm system please call Alistair at Clydeside Electrics on 07515 557 563, email us through our website www.clydesideelectrics.com, or message us through our Facebook page.