# Smoke alarms



## sam76 (14 June 2005)

After 13 preventable deaths in the last two weeks caused by fires, the government has finally stepped in and made smoke alarms compulsory in all Australian homes from May next year.  

Does anyone know if there any ASX listed companies that are going to benefit from this decision??

Regards,

Sam.


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## Joe Blow (14 June 2005)

I wonder who is going to be policing this and how they are going to go about it? Or if it is going to be policed at all?

Are we going to have government home inspections to make sure we all have smoke detectors installed?

Or maybe we'll all just get a free one in the mail from John Howard and instructions in broken English on how to install it?   

Sorry I don't have an answer to your question Sam. Perhaps someone else around here knows if there are any public companies that stand to benefit from this decision.


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## Smurf1976 (14 June 2005)

This is totally off topic but I've had a bit to do with issues concerning fire (qualified electrician / technician and also building fire warden) and thought it might be useful to some to mention a risk that most seem unaware of.

If you don't want your place catching fire then TURN THE COMPUTER MONITOR OFF when you're not around. TV's too. If you leave them on standby (so you can turn on with the remote) then apart from wasting plenty of electricity and adding unnecessary greenhouse gases (about one tonne of CO2 per year running continuously if you just leave the computer's screensaver running with the monitor on rather than switching it off), there's a significant risk that it will catch fire. Turn it off at the switch on the monitor/TV and, if it doesn't have a proper switch (has a soft touch switch etc.) then off at the wall.


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## money tree (14 June 2005)

I expect they will do similar to safety switches:

- install within 6 weeks of transfer of ownership
- $3k fine for breach causing injury
- insurance invalidated

now the big one there is insurance. quite simply, if you pay for insurance, its useless unless you comply. the insurance company will deny a payout because you were in breach of contract.

its amazing that people wont pay $200 for an install but happily pay $800 a year for invalid insurance....


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## krisbarry (14 June 2005)

That is old news..., by law, all existing homes in SA since 2000 must have at least one battery smoke alarm fitted.  While new homes built since 2000 have to be fitted with a hard wired (electrical) alarm as standard.  Kinda strange that it has taken so many deaths to unite a country in its laws. And I think, and someone can correct me if I am wrong....that people have been fined for not having smoke alarms (working eg batteries installed) when a fire has broken out and fire crews have investegated... Not sure which companies on the ASX would profit, but I know that each battery alarm has a small amount of Uranium in it. so there is a hint!!!


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## Smurf1976 (15 June 2005)

krisbarry said:
			
		

> ...but I know that each battery alarm has a small amount of Uranium in it. so there is a hint!!!



Actually it's americium but it's radioactive anyway...


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## krisbarry (15 June 2005)

Smurf1976 said:
			
		

> Actually it's americium but it's radioactive anyway...




Sorry, my mistake, I knew it was radioactive, so I assumed it was uranium.


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## ghotib (15 June 2005)

money tree said:
			
		

> I expect they will do similar to safety switches:
> 
> - install within 6 weeks of transfer of ownership
> - $3k fine for breach causing injury
> ...



Which means that the ASX listed companies to benefit from compulsory smoke alarms will be general insurance companies. Just like they benefitted from tort law reform. What a business: govt mandated income and ever-increasing govt mandated opportunities to avoid providing what customers pay for. Only thing that comes close is "health insurance" <hahahahahaha>.

Ghoti (very sour)


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## sam76 (15 June 2005)

Smurf, some intresting stuff mate, cheers.  Just wondering if there are any other household app. that should be turned off at the switch?

eg: Microwaves or alarm clocks?(gives us all a good excuse to sleep in on a Mon morning!)

Sam.


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## money tree (15 June 2005)

having an appliance such as a monitor running all the time with screensaver on is not a good idea, agree there. But as for pulling out every plug from the socket & the like, no way! a person could devote a fraction of their life to such a pursuit....and will likely die of electrocution due to sticking their fingers near the prongs....


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## sam76 (15 June 2005)

money tree said:
			
		

> having an appliance such as a monitor running all the time with screensaver on is not a good idea, agree there. But as for pulling out every plug from the socket & the like, no way! a person could devote a fraction of their life to such a pursuit....and will likely die of electrocution due to sticking their fingers near the prongs....





LOL I agree with you money tree - it would be unreasonable.. However it seems that Smurf is involved in the industry and his advice is something that perhaps we should all listen to. 

I just see this as an opportunity to ask a professional.

just like if anyone wants to put down  first choice imported marble/limestone floors/vanities in their home, they could ask me   

hehehehehe.....

Sam


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## serp (15 June 2005)

Smurf1976 said:
			
		

> If you don't want your place catching fire then TURN THE COMPUTER MONITOR OFF when you're not around. TV's too. If you leave them on standby (so you can turn on with the remote) then apart from wasting plenty of electricity and adding unnecessary greenhouse gases (about one tonne of CO2 per year running continuously if you just leave the computer's screensaver running with the monitor on rather than switching it off)




This maybe the case with big CRT monitors and oldish TVs but you will find these days (with LCD monitors and the like) that power consumption is quite low and it will be perfectly fine to leave the monitor on at the wall.

I do agree with not using screensavers, set you monitor (power saving settings in windows) to power down after 10-20 minutes of inactivity instead.


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## krisbarry (15 June 2005)

money tree said:
			
		

> But as for pulling out every plug from the socket & the like, no way! a person could devote a fraction of their life to such a pursuit....



I think that is called...Obsessive-compulsive disorder. LOL


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## Smurf1976 (31 July 2005)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200507/s1426433.htm

Yet another fire (fatal this time) because someone left the TV on standby. Just pressing the "off" button on the front of the set avoids this problem...

This thread did get a bit off track so I left responding for a while, but someone asked what the other significant risks are. This list is not comprehensive but:

1. Flues of solid fuel heaters. They will rust to the extent that you can literally rip the steel with your bare hands. Also, the creosote which builds up is highly flammable. It's best to clean them once a year at the _end_ of the heating season since this will minimise corrosion. If you only use it occasionally (eg because you live in a warm climate) then it probably doesn't need cleaning as often. Burning wet wood makes the problem far worse (causes a lot more creosote to build up) and is illegal in some locations due to the air pollution that wet wood causes. Not maintaining flues is a common cause of house fires in colder climates where these heaters are common and annual professional cleaning is a condition of some insurance policies. 

People lighting these heaters using petrol/kerosene/metho etc. starts the occasional house fire. It usually involves someone not realising that there are smoldering embers and then pouring the petrol on and ending up with the heater on fire, buring wood strewn throughout the room due to the force when it ignites, a face covered in ash and a tin of petrol on fire as well. You can buy proper fire lighters for about $2 or use paper if you don't like the barbecued look in your lounge room...   

2. Fat catching fire on stoves. This is a very common cause of fire and especially dangerous when the flames get sucked up the rangehood. Common cause of house fires.

3. Rice cakes in toasters are a bit like keeping a tin of petrol near an open fire. If you're going to toast them then stay around.

4. Clothes dryers burn with amazing speed due to the fan supplying plenty of fresh air to aid the fire. KEEP THE FILTERS CLEAN since not doing this is the usual cause of fire. Manufacturers recommend cleaning the filter after every load. Quite a lot of house fires start this way including one just down the road from me a couple of years ago.  

5. Electric blankets overheat and catch fire if heavy objects are left on the bed when they're switched on. Turning them off during the day is the best solution.

6. Portable electric fan heaters blow flames out the front if they are allowed to build up excessive amounts of dust / fluff. Some sort of heater (gas, electric, air-cond) fixed to the building is much safer around the elderly, children etc. If you want something portable then the oil-filled type are reasonably safe.

7. A particularly notorious risk that has caused several deaths is a product known as the "Gyro Aire" fan which was manufactured by Mistral. Most known problems are associated with 1970's models but there are doubts about any pre-1990 products of this nature since fires have been reported in post-1979 models which supposedly used fire retardent plastic. The now out of business manufacturer (Mistral exists today in name only with the name having been purchased by another manufacturer) was involved in a well documented cover up so this is not surprising. Models GA16-70 and GA12-10 are particularly well known (though not the only) fire starters with some not even making it off the production line without catching fire. This is a _cooling_ fan for use in summer and is housed in a square plastic box, beige in colour with (in most models) a darker coloured grille on the front that rotates slowly to direct air around the room. At the top right hand corner on the top of the unit is either a push button or slider control to adjust the speed.

There are two problems with these fans. Firstly, the components in the controls are electrically under-rated. They WILL fail in due course and that failure will in most cases produce sufficient heat to ignite the plastic. This can occur whether the unit is on or switched off (since the slider control never fully disconnects power). The second problem is that the plastic contains NO fire retardent and burns much like kerosene with huge flames largely destroying the whole unit in about 4 minutes and thick black smoke. These fans are known to have casued several _hundred_ house fires (mostly in Australia) and at there have been fatalities and numerous near-misses as many of the fires started at night when the electrical voltage tends to be slightly higher (the explanation for which is quite technical but if anyone really wants to know then I'll explain...   ). This issue received national media attention in the early 90's but no doubt plenty of these fans are still out there (I've seen quite a few). It is recommended that they be physically destroyed (by smashing it) to prevent salvage and reuse by persons unaware of the risk.

From the late 1970's to 1990 these fans were known to be causing fires at the rate of one every few weeks. At least 3 such fires stared in the Mistral factory itself and the company showroom in Singapore was also destroyed by one of these fans catching fire. By 1984 the company was receiving reports of fires at the rate of more than one every three weeks (and nobody knows how many non-reported fires occurred).  

Similar non-Mistral brand products are not affected and the recent models ought to be safe. I emphasise that these are _cooling_ fans and that there is no technical fix due to the problem with the plastic from which almost the whole unit is made. Over 300,000 of these highly flammable fans were made so there's a chance that someone here on ASF has one. There are also doubts about the safety of other Mistral products, particularly those made of plastic, from that era given the well documented lack of concern about safety by the company. 

Ceiling extractor fans are also not unknown to catch fire and Mistral was making those, of plastic, at the same time although there is no firm evidence on this risk. Needless to say that a fan in your ceiling on fire tends to destroy the house...

8. Another problem product is the Vulcan Quasar plug-in electric heaters _with electronic controls_ sold during the 1980's and early 90's. Non-electronic models are not affected. The problem is that brief dips/surges in the power supply are known to cause the electronics to switch the heating elements fully on without the fan. This causes the unit to heat up to the point that the aluminium housing literally melts. You end up with a puddle of molten aluminium on the floor which, depending on what the floor is made of, could be rather nasty. I have no information as to the actual number of fires (if any) caused but there are numerous known reports of melting, glowing red hot etc.

9. House wiring - Domestic wiring is normally white on the outside. If it's black (Tough Rubber Sheath - TRS), lead covered or made or cotton, encased in wood or otherwise not white then most likely it's old and past its expiry date. There are some exceptions such as MIMS cable ("pyro") sometimes used in commerical / industrial environments and also there is orange plastic covered cable, both of which are quite alright. If in doubt, get an electrician to check but whatever you do, don't touch old wiring even on the outside since it often falls apart (literally) when moved and you could be in for a shock...

10. There's no need to become paranoid and run around pulling all the plugs out. Just deal with the known hazards and you should be fine. And _check your smoke detector_. It really doesn't take long to push the off switch on the TV (as anyone older than their mid 20's will remember - we used to walk up to the TV and turn the dial to change channel or adjust the volume so this really isn't a big deal). I'm not interested in hearing whether or not it's worth taking risks - you can decide that for yourself but don't say you weren't warned. Personally, the fact that TV's on standby nationally waste the entire output of a medium sized power station is more than enough motivation to switch it off.


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## GreatPig (31 July 2005)

Smurf1976 said:
			
		

> At least 3 such fires stared in the Mistral factory itself



A number of years ago a couple of adjacent factory units in the block we were in burnt out over night, the cause supposedly being a computer monitor (it was a company that sold computer systems).

There were rumours though that the company was in financial difficulty, and that perhaps the shareholders were after an undeclared dividend 

What seemed a little odd was that the offices in both units were totally destroyed, yet between them were the two floor-to-ceiling warehouses - all concrete and steel. How could one monitor burn out both sets of offices in a building like that?

Still, I believe they had the fire investigators there sifting through the rubble, and I never heard of anything coming of it.

Cheers,
GP


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## sam76 (29 June 2009)

WOW!

I would be very interested in hearing what the more scientific brains amongst us had to say on this.

http://www.theworldfiresafetyfoundation.org/theworldfiresafetyfoundation.org/Home.html


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## sam76 (30 June 2009)

sorry for the bump - but the video is very interesting for those that have smoke alarms in their house


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