Fire Safety Reminder!

[Treads]

Just a reminder to everyone to make sure their flue is clean and they have fresh batteries in their smoke detectors!

I've just come back from our first chimney fire for the cold season. Thankfully a working smoke detector alerted the residents who knocked down the flames until brigades arrived to extinguish properly and conduct salvage/overhaul ops :cool:

Could have been much worse if it happened a couple of hours later and the detector didn't work....

[Tank]

Quote: "they have fresh batteries in their smoke detectors!"


In NSW if you have a wood heater installed you must (by law) have a "hard wired" smoke alarm, read of a family that didn't have one and their insurance was refused when their house burned down, Regards Frank.

[Tote]

Tank, does this apply to new heaters being fitted or all buildings, our open fires predate smoke detectors by about 130 Years

Regards,
Tote

[dullbird]

Ian has already put qa cleaner through ours.....to try and clear the chimney.

we do have smoke detector but I have no idea whether its hard wired will check tonight

[numpty]

Ian has already put qa cleaner through ours.....to try and clear the chimney.

we do have smoke detector but I have no idea whether its hard wired will check tonight

Even if it's hard wired, it will/should have a working backup battery.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Even if it's hard wired, it will/should have a working backup battery.The hard wired ones usually display a green LED to indicate they have power. They still have a 9V battery incase the power is tripped by the initial fire. The 9V battery still needs to be checked and or changed.

[Basil135]

And dont forget that if your smoke detector is over 10 years old, then it is probably time to replace it with a new one.

This is regardless of it being hard-wired or battery operated.

[Tank]

Tank, does this apply to new heaters being fitted or all buildings, our open fires predate smoke detectors by about 130 Years

Regards,
Tote
Building standards AS2198 says wood heaters must be installed by licensed installers, have hard wired smoke alarms, installation inspected and passed by local council inspector.
The most dangerous aspect of wood heaters is flue/chimney fires caused by letting the heater smoulder overnight causing creosote build up inside the flue, which can be ignited by a hot fire, usually resulting in a fire in the roof space and Backdraft which results from allowing the wood heater to smoulder overnight with cold inversion air forcing Co2 and other deadly gasses back into the house through the heater air inlet, there have been a significant number of deaths caused by this in the USA. Open fire places don't get as much creosote build up as slow combustion heaters because you can't restrict the flow of air into the fire, I don't know the AS for open fireplces Tote, Regards Frank.

[BMKal]

I suppose I'd better listen to advice and install a couple of smoke detectors Frank. Don't know if those laws apply in WA (have never heard of them before) but they certainly make sense - except maybe for the requirement to have wood heaters installed by licenced installers - don't know if there's any such thing over here.

In our case - house built in 1930's, timber frame, iron roof, various claddings. Central / divided brick chimney which serves both lounge and kitchen areas back to back. Cast iron wood stove installed in kitchen probably in the days when the house was built, and still used extensively throughout winter. Loungeroom originally had open fireplace, but I have installed a large slow combustion wood fired heater inside the original fireplace (it was bloody huge), with fan assist that is rarely required. This one is run almost non-stop during winter, including being left to "smoulder" overnight.

The slow combustion unit has its own steel flue which runs inside the brick chimney all the way to the top, but the kitchen stove has only a very short flue which then opens inside the brick chimney.

There have never been any smoke detectors installed in this house - maybe about time !!!! :o

[Basil135]

The fire services are now recommending the installation of smoke detectors in all occupied areas of a house.

This includes all bedrooms, and living areas as well as hallways.

The main reason is due to the increase of electrical goods, phone charges, ipod charges, tv / dvd being used in bedrooms.

In SA, it is law to have at least 1 hard-wired smoke detector in all rental properties, and if you put your house on the market.

Personally, I have all of my smokies connected to my alarm system, and that is monitored. If there is ever a problem, the alarm goes off, and the monitoring centre is advised.

[VladTepes]

Do youneed fires to keep warm down there... we have a thing up here we call "the sun" :p

[dobbo]

And remember when you see a scrub fire whilst in the bush, by all means call it in, but not on your own phone. Cause in the unlikely scenerio that it happens more than once, and the same phone number is recorded, you'll get a nice phonecall from the rural fire brigade profiler asking you a million and one questions as you get flagged as a potential pyromaniac.

Ask me how I know? Sometimes it doesn't pay to do the right thing in this nanny state.

[BMKal]

And remember when you see a scrub fire whilst in the bush, by all means call it in, but not on your own phone. Cause in the unlikely scenerio that it happens more than once, and the same phone number is recorded, you'll get a nice phonecall from the rural fire brigade profiler asking you a million and one questions as you get flagged as a potential pyromaniac.

Ask me how I know? Sometimes it doesn't pay to do the right thing in this nanny state.

You should be right Dobbo. Just tell em what you drive mate.

Most pyro's usually have a fairly rapid means of escape. :p

But seriously, if that is true then it's a pretty sad state of affairs. Would certainly lead anyone to ask themselves why bother.

[Bushie]

And remember when you see a scrub fire whilst in the bush, by all means call it in, but not on your own phone. Cause in the unlikely scenerio that it happens more than once, and the same phone number is recorded, you'll get a nice phonecall from the rural fire brigade profiler asking you a million and one questions as you get flagged as a potential pyromaniac.

Ask me how I know? Sometimes it doesn't pay to do the right thing in this nanny state.


Well I've been in the Rural Fire Service (and predecessors) and career fire service for near on 40 years, employed now by the RFS, and am an authorised fire investigator. Guess what though, I have never heard of a Rural Fire Brigade profiler (at least not in NSW).

CNI details are recorded by the 000 network and may be passed to the emergency services, but they are not routinely passed to individual brigades.


Martyn

[dullbird]

Well I've been in the Rural Fire Service (and predecessors) and career fire service for near on 40 years, employed now by the RFS, and am an authorised fire investigator. Guess what though, I have never heard of a Rural Fire Brigade profiler (at least not in NSW).

CNI details are recorded by the 000 network and may be passed to the emergency services, but they are not routinely passed to individual brigades.


Martyn

what he didn't tell you though is that some of the questions entailed, asking him about his


passport number
address
date of birth
bank account details

So on and so forth:D

[Tank]

I suppose I'd better listen to advice and install a couple of smoke detectors Frank. Don't know if those laws apply in WA (have never heard of them before) but they certainly make sense - except maybe for the requirement to have wood heaters installed by licenced installers - don't know if there's any such thing over here.

In our case - house built in 1930's, timber frame, iron roof, various claddings. Central / divided brick chimney which serves both lounge and kitchen areas back to back. Cast iron wood stove installed in kitchen probably in the days when the house was built, and still used extensively throughout winter. Loungeroom originally had open fireplace, but I have installed a large slow combustion wood fired heater inside the original fireplace (it was bloody huge), with fan assist that is rarely required. This one is run almost non-stop during winter, including being left to "smoulder" overnight.

The slow combustion unit has its own steel flue which runs inside the brick chimney all the way to the top, but the kitchen stove has only a very short flue which then opens inside the brick chimney.

There have never been any smoke detectors installed in this house - maybe about time !!!! :o
Brian, AS 2198 is an Australian Standard so it's jurisdiction covers Australia and woe betide any council that does not abide by it and have a Local Areas Policy (LAP) to cover their arses. In your case with the flue inside a brick chimney it would be near impossible for a roof space fire, but in nearly all cases of fire in the home it is the smoke that Kills, not the flames. A smoke alarm or 2 or 3 is a wise move, it is compulsory in NSW and I believe Insurance companies are reluctant to pay claims if the heater does not comply with building and safety codes. Insurance companies will take your premiums for years, but if fire destroys your house and possessions they will move heaven and earth to avoid paying out, very good idea to read the Public Disclosure Statement (PDS) in your home and contents policy. Why do you leave your heater smouldering overnight, it is not producing any useable heat and it is gumming up your flue, also you are leaving yourself open to backdraft where cold air inversion (happens every windless cold night) can force deadly gassses back down your flue and through the open air inlet into your home, carbon dioxde, carbon monoxide, formaldahyde, etc., all odourless and will kill you stone dead if you breathe enough of it, be careful mate, Regards Frank.

[rovers4]

The slow combustion unit has its own steel flue which runs inside the brick chimney all the way to the top, but the kitchen stove has only a very short flue which then opens inside the brick chimney.

There have never been any smoke detectors installed in this house - maybe about time !!!! :o[/QUOTE]

Here in Tassie it is a definite NO NO to have a flue fininish short in a chimney, no matter what the heater/cooker type.

The problem is that the creosote and soot builds up around the top of the flue and is almost impossible to get out. A chimney clean is difficult to do unless all done from the top. There have been many house fires resulting from the creosote residue etc. catching alight and overheating the nearby timber structure in the walls.

All new houses have to have at least one wired smoke detector in each main area, regardless of heating method.

Rovers4.

[disco gazza]

I read about a product called "smartburn".

Its supposed to clean your chimney whilst your burning your timber..
There's a website..SmartBurn - Multi Award Winning Smoke Reduction Environmental Device for Wood Heaters (http://www.smartburn.com.au)

Have a look,I've just bought a couple of them,as I havent cleaned the chimney for the past 4 years,and I always have it going overnight in the depths of winter.:D

Its apparently been tried and tested by the csiro or someone(have to go back to the website) and it apparently works a treat...:)

happy & safe home fires everybody...:D

cheers

disco gazza
92 disco tdi :p:D

[dullbird]

I read about a product called "smartburn".

Its supposed to clean your chimney whilst your burning your timber..
There's a website..SmartBurn - Multi Award Winning Smoke Reduction Environmental Device for Wood Heaters (http://www.smartburn.com.au)

Have a look,I've just bought a couple of them,as I havent cleaned the chimney for the past 4 years,and I always have it going overnight in the depths of winter.:D

Its apparently been tried and tested by the csiro or someone(have to go back to the website) and it apparently works a treat...:)

happy & safe home fires everybody...:D

cheers

disco gazza
92 disco tdi :p:D


I think this might of been what Ian used before we started using our fire....as we haven't been in this house long so was unaware of what state it was in

[muddymech]

[QUOTE=Tank;1246520]Brian, AS 2198 is an Australian Standard so it's jurisdiction covers Australia


can only find this for AS2198 on a google search. bit off the mark.

http://www.saiglobal.com/PDFTemp/Previews/OSH/As/as2000/2100/2198.pdf

[Tank]

[QUOTE=Tank;1246520]Brian, AS 2198 is an Australian Standard so it's jurisdiction covers Australia


can only find this for AS2198 on a google search. bit off the mark.

http://www.saiglobal.com/PDFTemp/Previews/OSH/As/as2000/2100/2198.pdf
Sorry, Typo, should be AS2918, Regards Frank.