By CHARLENE MACAULAY
VICTORIA’S fire services are calling on residents across the West to change their smoke alarm batteries next month as part of the annual Change Your Clock, Change Your Smoke Alarm Batteries campaign.
The MFB and CFA want residents to change their smoke alarm batteries on Sunday 7 April at the end of daylight savings to ensure their smoke alarms remain in good working order.
The organisations also recommend residents test smoke alarms monthly by pressing the test button with a broom handle, vacuum around your smoke alarm vents each year, and replace your smoke alarms every 10 years.
A new fire safety survey has found 38 per cent of Victorian and Tasmanian family homes have only one smoke alarm installed, and 28 per cent sometimes disconnect their smoke alarm or take out batteries to prevent false alarms.
“We can’t emphasise enough the importance of working smoke alarms and the importance of smoke alarms installed in correct locations,” MFB Commander John Rampling said.
“Without working smoke alarms you are four times more likely to die in a house fire.”
The Duracell Fire Safety Survey of Australia found that only 54 per cent of Victorian and Tasmanian households surveyed replace smoke alarm batteries every 12 months, as recommended by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council; only 31 per cent of Victorian and Tasmanian households knew how to test the smoke alarm properly; and 39 per cent of Victorian and Tasmanian households changed smoke alarm batteries on a specific date each year.
“Smoke alarms must be located between each bedroom area and the rest of the house,” CFA Deputy Chief Officer Steve Warrington said.
“If you sleep with your bedroom door shut, you should consider having a smoke alarm inside the bedroom.
“In a multiple storey home a smoke alarm is required on every storey, located in the path that people will use to evacuate.
“It is vital that smoke alarms are located in the right places, tested regularly and batteries replaced annually.”
