A new survey has revealed that an overwhelming 94 per cent of people - tenants and homeowners alike - aren’t testing their smoke alarms often enough.
Respondents were asked how often they check their alarms, and only six per cent said they do so once every week or more, which is the frequency recommended by a number of smoke safety bodies.
Some 29 per cent admitted that they never test their alarms at all; a further 18 per cent said that they only check them once per year; while 17 per cent perform a test just once every six months.
When respondents were asked why they don’t check their alarms more often, the main reason given was forgetfulness. Of those who test their alarms less than once per week, nearly half said that they simply forget to.
Ten per cent said that their reason for not testing their smoke alarm more often was that they didn’t know how to. Another seven per cent stated that they simply can’t be bothered to check more often.
According to the survey, almost three-quarters don’t realise that their claim could be impacted if they fail to check their alarm. Claimants for fire damage may receive a lower payout or have their claim rejected in full if insurers find that the alarms weren’t working when the fire occurred.
Ceri McMillan, a home insurance expert at Go.Compare - the firm that commissioned the survey - says: “It’s extremely shocking to see that so few Britons are testing their alarms as often as they should be and it’s especially worrying that many are never checking them at all.
“It can’t be overstated how dangerous it is to neglect your smoke alarms. Not only does it pose a significant risk to your safety, but it also means that your insurance claim could be rejected in the event of a fire.
“As a result, you could be left with the devastating double whammy of your home being seriously damaged and having to pay for the repairs yourself.”
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Sounds like there is a market for alarms that will self test on a regular basis.
And another reason is that -Tenants remove the batteries. So it would make no difference. I keep telling em it’s for their safety they r there but they take no notice. ( falls on deaf ears ).
Trigg, had alarms wired so they could be safe and what did they do. Smoking in the flat burning crack pipes etc and ripped them out of the ceiling.
Council then wants to slap a notice on me for the tenants destroying the place.... Give up honestly..
In larger buildings where fire alarms etc are fitted, new models have remote testing and recording. With Alexa and similar in many homes this ought to be possible with alerts sent to tenants and landlords if there is a failure?
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