Brooks RFP6 - 1.3 Locating Smoke;Heat Alarms

BROOKS AUSTRALIA RFP6 Installer ISSUE 4
7
Disadvantages
• More expensive to produce
• Not an early warning device, should always be interconnected to other smoke
alarms within the residence.
1.3 Locating your Smoke / Heat Alarm
Ionisation and Photo-Optical Alarms
Sufficient smoke must enter your Smoke Alarm before it will respond. Your Smoke
Alarm needs to be within 10 paces (7 metres) of the fire to respond quickly. It also
needs to be in a position where its alarm can be heard throughout the residence, so it
can wake all occupants in time for all to escape. A single Smoke Alarm will give some
protection if it is properly installed, but most residences will require two or more
Smoke Alarms to ensure that a reliable early warning is given. For maximum
protection you should put individual Smoke Alarms in all the rooms where fire is most
likely to break out.
Your first Smoke Alarm should be located between the sleeping area and the most
likely sources of fire (living room or kitchen for example). But it should not be more
than 10 paces (seven metres) from the door to any room where a fire might start and
block your escape from the house.
1.3.1 Single Storey Dwelling
If your home is on one level (a bungalow or mobile home for example) you should put
your first Smoke Alarm in a corridor or hallway between the sleeping and living areas.
Place it as near to the living area as possible, but make sure you can hear it loudly
enough to wake you in the bedroom (for example, see figure 1).
If your home is very large and the corridor or hallway is more than say 22 paces (15
metres) long, one Smoke Alarm will not be sufficient. This is because no matter where
it is located it will be more than 7.5 metres from potential fires.
Recommended Protection Figures (1 & 2)
Minimum protection
each storey
each sleeping area
every 7.5 metres (25 ft) or hallways and rooms
Maximum protection
All rooms (except bathroom)
In houses with more than one sleeping area, Smoke Alarms should be placed
between each sleeping area and the living area.