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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Kuranda, paradise, North Qld
    Age
    62
    Posts
    5,639

    Default Do you have working smoke detectors in your house?

    Well I had today all planned, rearranging the shed to fit in my new edgebander. I'd just finished breakfast when the phone rang and I got a call out to a house fire. I raced across the road to our fire shed, dragging on my uniform as I went. When wwe arrived the house was well ablaze with 3m high flames billowing out of the windows. Poured water on and then ferried water to the urban trucks when they arrived (nearest hydrant a few kays away). The house was gutted (block walls still up and possibly salvageable) and I'd say all belongings lost. Fortunately though they had working smoke alarms which alerted the family and they all got out unharmed. The fire was started by kids playing with a lighter, the curtains caught fire and within minutes the house was well ablaze. With the fire spreading so quickly the occupants may have been overcome with toxic gases if the alarm hadn't alerted them.


    If a fire broke out in your house would you get out in time?



    So I did my bit for the community today but got bugger all done in the shed

    Mick
    "If you need a machine today and don't buy it,

    tomorrow you will have paid for it and not have it."

    - Henry Ford 1938

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Tasmania
    Age
    48
    Posts
    1,006

    Default

    I hope you were wearing your Bellingham F.D. T-shirt.
    "There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark."

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Bellingham
    Age
    47
    Posts
    798

    Default Do you have working smoke detectors in your house?

    Yes

    Did anyone make an interior attack when they got there, or was it all defensive? did you save the box of puppies? any pictures? Good work brother. the community is indebted to you for volunteering your time.

    -Ryan

    there's no school like the old school.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Pambula
    Age
    58
    Posts
    12,779

    Default

    Yes, good on ya Mick. I've been thinking about joining either the Volunteer Fire Brigade or SES but too much going on at present. Maybe next year when the house is built.

    Regarding smoke alarms, we don't have any at present but since we are renting the house now, thinking of approaching the new owners about it. By law they are required to install then in rental properties.

    Naturally the new house will have hard-wired alarms throughout.
    "I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to."

  6. #5
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Stirling, ACT
    Age
    59
    Posts
    123

    Default

    Good on ya Mick, I've thought about getting involved in the SES but having grown up in urban Scotland (so few or no Aussie smarts) I have a sneaking suspicion that I'd just get myself in trouble and put others at risk

    On the smoke detector front, one working and one disabled due to the amount of toast we burn. Previous owner fitted it in the kitchen just above the stove... When we were still renting I replaced a few myself that were not working on the grounds that the owner didn't seem too keen to fix up anything else and hey, my family is more important than a few dollars spent.

    Thanks for the reminder though.

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 1999
    Location
    Westleigh, Sydney
    Age
    77
    Posts
    9,542

    Default

    A timely reminder Mick, and thanks for your community spirit.

    We've had them for years, fortunately never had to use them in anger.
    We had a house rented out at one stage, built of cypress, 5k from town, so had alarms in it of course. Never had any false alarms when we were there, but inevitably the tenants would disable them - don't know whether it was because they were heavy smokers or they wanted the batteries for the kids' toys. :mad:
    Visit my website
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  8. #7
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Brisbane
    Age
    52
    Posts
    417

    Default

    Well done Mick. I hope you had time to stop and put your undies on the outside of your trousers as all good super heros do.

    Smoke detctors cost bugger all, I've got 4 in a 2 bedroom house.
    Re the toast setting the off, you can get ones that are specific to kitchens.

    On the list of things to do is some hardwired detectors, the ones that have a halogen light. They can be connected toghter so that when one alarms they all alarm (with a light). These are pretty dear but I can do the whole house for about the cost of my ROS.
    Specializing in O positive timber stains

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Sunbury, Vic
    Age
    84
    Posts
    2,713

    Default

    Recently saw a video which showed an average lounge room completely engulfed in flames in 3 minutes after a fire was started in the couch - pretty scary.
    One of our detectors goes off sometimes when grilling meat and we treat it as a test - reminds us why it is there
    Tom

    "It's good enough" is low aim

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    8

    Default

    In NSW where's there's been a tragic series of house fires of late, I heard the NSW Fire Commissioner recommend that there should be one (preferably hard wired) in every room as it can take precious seconds for smoke to reach and activate one several rooms away.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Port Macquarie
    Age
    54
    Posts
    2,123

    Default

    Thanks for the reminder Mick, I have one upstairs but not downstairs where it's probably more important to have one, that'll be on my list for this weekend.

    HH.
    Always look on the bright side...

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Australia and France
    Posts
    8,175

    Default

    Well done Mick!

    Yes. Two. Hardwired with battery backup.

    One is in the hall outside the bedrooms, one in the workshop at the other end of the house, both interconnected so if one goes off, so does the other, and all the lights in the house turn on as well.

    Occasionally the workshop one is a pain, like when the middle connection of the DC blew off and choofed dust everywhere, or when I'm using the heat gun to melt paint, or the other night when a gecko shat in it.

    A word of caution though: there is a substantial conspiracy theory thing happening about ionization type detectors, which apparently don't pick up some of the by-products of combustion.

    Be aware that a slow smouldering fire, may not give off enough stuff to set off the alarm until the heat has built up to that "WOOF" stage, by which time it's easy to get badly hurt or worse.

    http://www.firecrusade.com/ was one of the sites for info, but is currently being re-configured. It makes intriguing and sobering reading.

    I am of the view that detectors that only work in some types of fire are better than no detectors.

    Cheers,

    P



  13. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Adelaide Hills
    Age
    66
    Posts
    3,803

    Default

    Smoke dectectors installed and working in the new workshop and have just installed a couple of dry powder extinigushers by exits. Also did a review of chemical storage.....found bottle of turps on shelf right underneath the bench grinder.
    Whatever note you blow youre never more than a semitone away from the correct one....(Miles Davis)

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Adelaide Hills
    Age
    66
    Posts
    3,803

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Anderson
    Recently saw a video which showed an average lounge room completely engulfed in flames in 3 minutes after a fire was started in the couch - pretty scary.
    One of our detectors goes off sometimes when grilling meat and we treat it as a test - reminds us why it is there

    Sounds like the same video I watched as part of my 3 yearly helicopter evacuation/fire fighting refresher over in Perth recently. Amazing how short a time it takes to completely incinerate the room (4 minutes I think it was).
    Whatever note you blow youre never more than a semitone away from the correct one....(Miles Davis)

  15. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Glen Innes NSW
    Age
    80
    Posts
    623

    Thumbs up Safety First

    On ya Mick, Nice to see all were out ok. We have them in our house as well and looking at upgrading. You could not light a ciggy in this house with out a warning being beeped out.

    We have a plan for all members to get out if this should ever occur and access to the outside is good all around no matter where a fire should start. Nice work Mick, having been a volunteer at quite a few things over a considerable number of years(now taking it easy) I am well aware of the efforts on yours and your mates part, keep it up, for without you and lots of volunteer mates in all sorts of services we would as most would agree all be basically stuffed.

    Kind regards Mike

  16. #15
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Conder, ACT
    Age
    77
    Posts
    6,051

    Default

    Yes and a DCP just outside the kitchen, near the exit and an evacuation plan which is discussed regularly. (so every one remembers)

    ps If not hard wired, give each detector a Xmas present of a new alkaline battery.

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