Last week an elderly man in Birmingham was saved by his smoke alarm when clothes drying on his electric heater caught fire.
Early in the morning on Wednesday 19th October the gentleman, who has sight and hearing difficulties, was awoken by the sound of his smoke detector. The man, from the Northfield area of Birmingham, called the emergency services and, despite his scary situation, he remained calm and even managed to provide detailed directions and instructions on how to enter his home.
Commander Paul Smith, watch commander of the fire crew that attended the scene, credits the smoke alarm installation in the pensioner’s home with saving his life and urges anyone with a smoke alarm to test it regularly.
If the gentleman didn’t have a smoke alarm the outcome of this fire could have been very different. Smoke alarms emit a very high decibel alarm when activated and most domestic alarms are capable of alarms that register up to 85dB at close range. People who are sleeping should be awoken by their smoke detector alarm even if they are in a deep sleep.
Luckily despite this man’s hearing problems he managed to hear the alarm. Devices are available to assist the hard of hearing during an emergency though. The Deafgard, for example, is a device that includes a vibrating pad that should be placed under the deaf person’s pillow. If the smoke alarm sounds, the Deafgard will wirelessly register the sound and activate the vibrations to wake the user.
During the coming colder months the public needs to be aware that drying clothes on electric heaters can be very dangerous. It’s important to remember that this fire wouldn’t have happened if the clothes hadn’t been left to dry on the heater.
Discount Fire Supplies sell a range of fire alarms, fire alarm accessories and much more. Browse our online shop or contact us for a quote today.
