Call for NZ to change law on smoke alarms

Photo / Steven McNicholl

A veteran firefighter, who has lost count of the number of fatal fires he has attended, says the law must be changed to force people to install hard-wired smoke alarms.

Hard-wired smoke alarms, which were wired into a house's electrical system, undoubtedly saved lives, said Russell Dickson, a fire safety officer with the Fire Service in Auckland.

Mr Dickson, with more than 40 years service, said he seen too many fatal fires where battery powered smoke alarms had failed.

A change to the building codes meant builders and developers were required by law to instal alarms in new homes but they could be battery-powered, and that was the problem, he said.

A smoke alarm wired into the house's main power supply would always work and also had a back up rechargeable battery in case of a power cut.

The law had been changed in Australia requiring people to fit hard-wired alarms, but New Zealand had not followed with similar laws.

"It is unfortunate we didn't go down the line Australia did."

- NZPA