Smoke Alarms

Which? sounds alarm over dodgy smoke detectors

Jamie Hailstone

Some smoke alarms on sale do not work or are too slow to sound an alarm, according to a new study by Which?.

The consumer group tested five smoke alarms in accordance with the British Standard.

These tests include fires involving wood, cotton, plastics and solvents. Two different samples of each model were tested in each scenario.

One alarm, sometimes listed as the SS-168, but often unbranded, failed to detect smoke in seven out of eight tests.

The first sample failed to detect smoke in any of the four tests. The second failed to sound in three fire tests.

Worryingly, some of these products falsely claim to comply with the BSI safety standard.

In a snapshot taken in June 2018, Which? found that 98 of the 250 cheapest listings for smoke alarms on Ebay featured this product.

Since highlighting this to Ebay, it has removed 100 listings for identical looking alarms. But since removing these alarms, dozens of other listings for the dangerous alarms have been added to the website.

However, even models available on the high street struggled in the testing. The Honeywell XS100 failed to sound in two of the eight tests, despite carrying the Kitemark safety label.

The first sample didn’t sound during the wood-fire test, and the second sounded too late when responding to the flaming-plastics test.

“Smoke alarms that quickly and loudly alert people to a fire are vital in keeping people safe from danger, so it’s shocking that some of the products we’ve tested are either far too slow or don’t work at all in some circumstances,” said Which?’s Managing Director of Home Products and Services, Alex Neill.

“Anyone who has one of these alarms should replace it straight away. We think the safety standards need to be strengthened and the Government must take action.”

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