Smoke alarms might not be high on your list of items to check when moving house, but they should be. Smoke alarms help protect you, your family and your possessions during a house fire.
Around 80% of fatal house fires in New Zealand take place in homes without installed or working smoke alarms.
New Zealand has strict rules around fire safety for landlords, renovations and new builds. However, existing homes are optional to come equipped with smoke alarms. No matter where you’re moving, it's a good idea to know the laws and recommendations around smoke alarms, as they could save your life one day.
If you’re building or renovating, the New Zealand building code requires you to fit smoke alarms in your new home. You’ll need to install smoke alarms in every escape route and within three metres of every sleeping space.
If your home only has one hallway, you may only be required to install one smoke alarm, especially if all bedrooms come off this escape route.
While one smoke alarm might be enough to meet the Building Code, Fire and Emergency New Zealand recommended placing smoke alarms inside each bedroom and living space.
It is best to also fit heat alarms in the kitchen and bathroom. Smoke alarms in the kitchen can get set off easily from cooking, so a heat alarm is a good alternative.
If you are a tenant, your landlord is responsible for installing and paying for working smoke alarms in your home. However, as the tenant, you are responsible for alerting your landlord when the alarms need maintenance (like new batteries). You can also be at fault if you remove batteries from working smoke alarms and don’t replace them.
Your landlord must install a smoke alarm within three metres of each bedroom or sleeping quarter, on each level of a multi-story home and in any self-contained sleep-outs, caravans or areas used for sleeping.
There are two main types of safety systems you should look for: alarm-detection type and battery type. Smoke alarms detect smoke in two ways - either photoelectric or ionisation alarms.
Ionisation alarms are cheaper and more common but get set off easier than photoelectric alarms. Photoelectric alarms are more expensive but can detect slow-smouldering fires before they explode.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand recommends that homeowners and landlords use photoelectric smoke alarms as these are the most effective at detecting slow-smouldering fires. Slow-smouldering fires can burn for a long time before bursting into flame.
Interconnected smoke alarms are also great because one can trigger all smoke alarms in a home to go off. Interconnected alarms give everyone within the house more time to get to safety during a fire. This is especially important in multi-level homes where a downstairs fire may prevent upstairs tenants from getting out quickly.
Most smoke alarms come with built-in sealed batteries, which last around ten years. If you’re unsure what type of smoke alarm you have, turn it over.
If you can open your smoke alarm and easily remove the battery, you have an alarm with a regular 9-vault battery. Regular batteries only last around a year before they need to be replaced. If your smoke alarm has a sealed battery, your alarms are equipped with a long-life battery. You won’t need to replace these batteries at all. You will need to replace the whole alarm every ten years.
If you are building a new home or renovating it, consider installing hard-wired smoke alarms into your power or security system. While you won’t have to worry about changing out batteries, you will need a backup battery system installed in case of a power cut.
Specialised smoke alarm systems are a good idea if you live with someone who is deaf or hard of hearing. These alarms are fitted with additional features like loud or lowered pitch sounds, flashing lights, or vibrational effects. Fire and Emergency New Zealand also recommends interconnected hard-wired alarms fitted alongside strobe lights and bed shaking devices for maximum impact.
The following safety tips will keep your smoke alarm performing at its best.
Before you install a smoke alarm, determine the best place for it in your home. Ideally, you should have one smoke alarm in every room. New Zealand law requires rental properties and new builds to install smoke alarms in hallways or corridors that double as emergency exits.
Placing the alarm on the ceiling is best, although you can install a smoke alarm on a wall near the ceiling.
Ensure your smoke alarm is more than 30cm from the wall or ceiling corners. Install your alarm away from extractor fans, light fittings, or fireplaces.
To install a smoke alarm in your home, you’ll need to gather the following things:
Once your smoke alarm is working, make a note on a calendar to test your smoke alarm in six months. An easy way to remember to test your smoke alarms is to do it at daylight savings.
If you’re moving to a new home, make sure your home for smoke alarms. If your home doesn’t have many smoke alarms, install them within the first few weeks of living there. This could help save your life.
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