Fire safety for home owners

Every home in Scotland must have interlinked fire alarms by February 2022. Being interlinked means if one alarm goes off, they all go off. You may not always hear the alarm closest to the fire, especially if you’re somewhere else in the house. An interlinked system will alert you immediately. What you need to do If you are a homeowner, it's your responsibility to make sure your home meets the new fire alarms standard.By February 2022 every home will need to have:

• 1 smoke alarm in the room you spend most of the day, usually your living room

• 1 smoke alarm in every circulation space on each storey, such as hallways and landings

• 1 heat alarm in the kitchen

All smoke and heat alarms should be mounted on the ceiling and be interlinked. If you have a carbon-fuelled appliance, like a boiler, fire, heater or flue you must also have a carbon monoxide detector. This does not need to be linked to the fire alarms. 

Examples: If you live in a 3 bedroom, 2 storey house will need 3 smoke alarms and one heat alarm. You also may also need carbon monoxide alarms. You need:

• 3 linked smoke alarms:

  • on the upstairs landing

  • in the downstairs hall

  • in the living room

• 1 linked heat alarm in the kitchen

• 1 carbon monoxide alarm in any room where you have a carbon-fuelled appliance like a boiler or wood-burning fire place

If you live in a 1 bedroom flat, you will need 2 smoke alarms and 1 heat alarm. You also may also need carbon monoxide alarms. You need:

• 2 linked smoke alarms:

  • in the hall

  • in the living room

  • 1 linked heat alarm in the kitchen

• 1 carbon monoxide alarm in any room where you have a carbon-fuelled appliance like a boiler or wood-burning fire place

If you have an open plan living room and kitchen you only need to have 1 alarm in this space and it should be a heat alarm.

For more information please:https://www.mygov.scot/home-fire-safety