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Home Your Safety Safety at Home Smoke Alarms

Smoke Alarms

Working smoke alarms save lives, make sure you’re up to date with the latest smoke alarm safety advice.

  • Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home;
  • Test the alarms every week to make sure they are working;
  • The best places to fit them are at the bottom of the stairs, with further alarms on each stair landing;
  • The ideal position is on the ceiling, as near as possible to the centre of the room, hallway or landing;
  • Take time to check on elderly relatives and neighbours as they are at greater risk from fire, and test their smoke alarms for them.

Looking after your smoke alarms

  • Once a week – test the batteries;
  • Once a year – change the batteries (unless it is a ten-year alarm or a mains-wired alarm);
  • Twice a year – gently vacuum to remove dust;
  • Every ten years – replace the entire smoke alarm.

If you have a wired smoke alarm

Some smoke alarms are mains-wired but, like battery powered alarms, still need to be replaced every 10 years. As with battery powered alarms, you should test mains-wired smoke alarms once a week and replace them immediately if they do not respond properly when tested.

Remember, every smoke alarm must be replaced after 10 years, regardless of their power source.

Mains-wired smoke alarms are installed and paid for by the property owner. Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service cannot provide replacements for these systems.

If you live in Rented Accommodation or Social Housing

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 came into force on 1 October 2022.  As a tenant, your landlord is responsible for making sure that there are smoke alarms fitted on every level of the property you are renting, and they are also responsible for offering protection against carbon monoxide.

  • Landlords and housing providers are required by law to fit smoke alarms in all rented accommodation.
  • Carbon monoxide alarms must also be fitted in rented properties with fixed appliances such as gas boilers or fires.
  • Carbon monoxide alarms to be fitted when new appliances such as gas boilers or fires are installed in any home.

Landlords and housing providers in social and private rented sectors should repair or replace smoke and carbon monoxide alarms once they are told they are faulty.

Further information for landlords is available on the National Residential Landlord Association’s website.

Further information