Christine McGinn
(Australian Associated Press)
Every bedroom needs a smoke alarm and it’s not good enough just to have one in a nearby hallway, Tasmania Fire Service says.
While the suggestion is not mandatory, authorities believe it will save lives.
A hallway smoke alarm sometimes isn’t close enough to wake someone if a fire sparks in the bedroom where the majority of fatal house fires start at night, says TFS community fire safety director Sandy Whight.
“If a fire starts in the bedroom it will be too late if the closest smoke alarm is in the hallway,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The more smoke alarms you have in a house the quicker you will be alerted to a fire to allow the safe evacuation for you and your family.”
Residential properties must have a working smoke alarm – either hard wired or powered by a 10-year lithium battery – by law.
“Of the 100 house fires TFS crews have responded to since March, almost 80 per cent of those were caused accidentally,” Ms Whight said.
“We can’t prevent all fires, so we need the community to give themselves the best chance of surviving a house fire by ensuring they have adequate smoke alarms.”
