Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service is spearheading campaign!
Warwickshire County Council's Fire and Rescue Service in partnership with the Boat Safety Scheme has moved to make its strongest recommendation yet - that boats with overnight accommodation are fitted with at least one suitable and effective smoke alarm!
The aim of the campaign is to persuade boaters to use smoke alarms as part of their fire action plan to aid detection and ultimately escape from fire.
Early detection of a fire can help boaters deal with a small fire before it gets out of control or give everyone aboard the chance to escape without being overcome by smoke or poisonous fumes, particularly whilst asleep and so unaware of the advancing and deadly danger.
County Fire Officer for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, William Brown, said,
“Smoke alarm technology has advanced significantly over the past few years with more features being available in alarms, such as optical sensors, extremely long life lithium batteries and the facility to ‘hush’ the alarm when, for example, cooking food.
“In the future I can see that smoke alarms will become the norm on boats and I’m keen for alarms, of the best type and well placed, to be used as another vital part of a boat owner’s fire action plan made with family members.
"But, it is crucial that boat owners understand that testing the alarm routinely by pushing the button is better than pushing their luck.”
The recommendations have been developed with the help of one the UK’s leading bodies on fire protections issues, the Fire Protection Association (FPA).
A set of guidelines is available on the BSS website and these have been drawn from the FPA report and reviewed by all the major suppliers of battery-powered smoke alarms.
The guidelines cover the alarm choices in more detail; advice on positioning the units, and, guidance on the routine care, testing and maintenance. Other advice includes:
• Owners of boats with overnight accommodation are advised to have at least one smoke alarm of the recommended type.
• Although any type of proprietary smoke alarm may provide a degree of protection, the recommended type is an optical or photoelectric cell alarm because this type is particularly sensitive to dense smoke from a smouldering fire. The alternative ionisation type is best suited to flaming or fast developing fires.
• A smoke alarm with an extra-long life battery, also known as a lithium battery or 10-year sealed-in battery, is recommended. Boaters will have more confidence in the continued protection over many years, without having to remember to replace the unit’s battery.
• Choosing an alarm with a hush button is recommended because this will allow the alarm to be easily temporarily silenced, for example, if activated when making toast.
• An alarm that has been independently certified that it meets either the BS 5446-1:2000 or BS EN 14604:2005 standards offers more assurance that it will work if and when it is needed to. The British Standards Institution ‘Kitemark’, or the mark of the Loss Prevention Certification Board (LPCB), are evidence of independent certification.
• Mounting an alarm in the right position is vital. For maximum levels of protection, it must detect a fire in its earliest stages. Generally alarms should be mounted on the deckhead or ceiling, 30cm from the cabin sides and within five metres of each protected area of the vessel. On some boats this may mean installing more than one alarm, and it is recommended to choose units that can be linked together.
• At the same time, an alarm must be able to wake anyone sleeping aboard, potentially from deepest sleep. The advice is to try out the alarm(s) in situ before fixing it in position. If the trial suggests that not everyone would be woken if fire started, a different spot should be tried, or more alarms installed – again with the recommendation about linking.
• Making alarm testing second nature is essential in order to pick up any problems with the alarm before it is put to the test for real. Boaters are strongly recommended to press the test button on each alarm as part of their boarding routine. Boaters that live or stay aboard for longer than a week are urged to get into the habit of testing alarms once a week.
The recommendations made by WFRS in partnership with the BSS form part of an on-going campaign to improve safety for boaters through advice and information.
This partnership also hopes to influence many more boat builders to install the best types of smoke alarms from new. A proposed non-statutory code to be published in due course for operators of hireboats and similar vessels, which will likely cover the subject of smoke alarms.
The smoke alarm guidelines supporting this recommendation are available from the links on the home page of http://www.boatsafetyscheme.com as too is the advice on making a fire action plan.