Smoke Alarms Obligatory?

[Jackie]

One insurance company has included the following in advertising blurb recently received.

"Conformément à un projet de loi adopté en octobre 2005, chaque lieu d'habitation devra prochainement être équipé d'un détecteur de fumée."

Now, like many folk, we installed smoke detectors purchased in the UK and, I assume, they do not bear the NF stamp. So do we need to buy at least one detector so marked? I notice that the Brico stores are full of them just now!.......................................John not Jackie 

[Richard-R]

They are selling them for 9.99€ in tridome (Carrefour), of late but they are not great products. Get a good system either from Germany or England. Our system in or house cost about 450€-900€ without fitting, We purchasses it from Switzland, for 500€. An alarm in each room, and set for different agents. It runs on solar power. Fully automatic, also links into our security system.

Big savings on the normal insurance cost. The entire system's paid for it's self in 3 years.

Total system = Fire and Security, was about 4000€ ( includes cctv, Voice, fire etc).and loads of other stuff, i.e. remote viewing, recording.

[Patmobile]

I thought some new law must have been passed.  We fitted at least two in each of our houses and gites, buying them in UK because they couldn't be found in France.  Same, at the time, with fire extinguishers.

Now, smoke alarms and extinguishers are suddenly on sale everywhere

Patrick

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="Patmobile"]I thought some new law must have been

passed.  We fitted at least two in each of our houses and gites,

buying them in UK because they couldn't be found in France.  Same,

at the time, with fire extinguishers.

Now, smoke alarms and extinguishers are suddenly on sale everywhere

Patrick

[/quote]

We too fitted alarms, extinguishers and fire blankets in all our

properties - not because we were obliged to, but because it seemed

sensible. At the time, we brought them form the UK as we could find NO

local supplier, rediculous as that might sound. I noticed at the time

that they all bore both the CE and NF marks and were supplied with

French language instructions, which puzzled me the more. At least now I

can replace them easily once they expire. My undersatnding is that this

is only at the recommendation stage at present, though it is likely to

become law in all rented property and new builds in fairly short order.

I've been wrong before.[:O]

[Owens88]

Caution though. I cannot comment on the French law or the way that it will go but where similar rules apply in Britain they effectively mandate hard-wired smoke alarms (cos nobody ever checks batteries !).

John

 

[Val_2]

Well I go into many homes here and I have yet to see a single one fitted anywhere except for my own house. Like the scrapping of cars over four years old rule that the government were going to make,its probably another load of hot air(sorry about pun) that no one will enforce.

[Deimos]

From what I heard, the reason smoke alarms have not been available

in France has been that they did not approve of the technology used to detect

the smoke.  I believe a chemical used in

the sensors in the UK devices is extremely toxic (buried pretty deep in the devices

to unlikely to cause a problem – but that’s what I heard).

I notice that all those now available in France (or the ones

I’ve seen and the models I’ve purchased for my own use) are marked “optical”

(i.e. use an optical sensor to detect smoke.

Ian

[BJSLIV]

As the first post said

........une loi adopté en octobre 2005, chaque lieu d'habitation devra prochainement ............

The law has only just been passed, and the obligation to install alarms is to be phased over  a five year period.

Now to me that sounds a bit like the pool fence laws. So,we will all  need to wait for AFNOR to lay down the rules (eta September 2010?) before we can know what type, specification, power source, will be allowed.

No doubt anything purchased in the UK will haveto be replaced as I can almost guarantee that it will not meet the NF requirements, whatever they eventually turn out to be.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="Deimos"]

From what I heard, the reason smoke alarms have not been available

in France has been that they did not approve of the technology used to detect

the smoke.  I believe a chemical used in

the sensors in the UK devices is extremely toxic (buried pretty deep in the devices

to unlikely to cause a problem – but that’s what I heard).

I notice that all those now available in France (or the ones

I’ve seen and the models I’ve purchased for my own use) are marked “optical”

(i.e. use an optical sensor to detect smoke.

Ian

[/quote]

Some (most?) smoke alarms worldwide use a system based on the

radioactive decay of isotope 241 of the element americium to detect

smoke particles. Although intensly radioactive, the nature of the decay

(by something called alpha emission) means that in a smoke alarm this

poses no danger whatsoever to humans. If it were taken out and

swallowed that might be a different matter.

The French authorities are possibly concerned more with how used alarms

are disposed of. In most places they are chucked in the bin and get

landfilled. This is probably safe (and any marginal risk, it is

argued, outweighed by the numbers of lives saved), but if the same

waste issued from a nuclear power station it would be subject to far

more stringent controls. The optical ones are meant to be good for fash

burning hot fires, the radioactive ones for slow burning (I think

that's the right way round) so having both on site is considered best.

I would imagine that once the matter of disposal is settled, the radiation based detectors will be available too.