Smoke alarm maintenance

WJ Hooker,

You might be right with regards to 'how deep' the push button tests go……

As with the aerosol can, Tools is in the right track…..A good electrical wholesaler / or retailer should have the can. I think I got mine from Haymans Electrical here on the Sunny Coast if I remember…

Cheers,

Thanks Scott and Bundy

I put it to my PM that it was little unprofessional to send me the letter without any quotes, with the letter that signs away any fault on their part re smoke alarm legislation. Well she backed off quick smart, said I should not have received the letter and only some clients got the letter. Is this the clients who are not local to their prperties and just usually say yes to anything the PM suggests, therefore being overcharged. The way she backed off quick and said no worries, no need to sign the form and they will continue with current procedure (ie check themselves when tenancy changes) makes me smell a rat. The old kick back for every property that got using the service!

I am getting a can of Smoke Alarm aerosol tester and using it at home now. If Ok i think I will buy four and have them placed in each of my properties by the PM along with a pack of baterries. I am sure is cheaper then $99 a year per property on an ongoing bases. What a rip off!

I can make a very good practical imput on this topic- we recently had a tenants ex wife burn our 500k investment property down and leave us 4 walls!!!  the insurance company tried every trick possible to reduce the claim, inspect every document, property managers reports, condition reports, when the wiring was done, last electrical works, any new appliances in the home and also smoke alarms and state, when tested, whom tested them and to prove everything.

Luckily all my docs were totally in place and my Property Mgr was very very thorough
 
It has taken 12 months of drama to rebuild this home for the insurance company and then they tried to scrimp on everything – appliances, tapware, blinds, not install hardwood timber flooring and polish it as our floors are worth about 50k. If they can get out of any of the claim they will alwys try and for $99 or whatever I would rather peace of mind that our asset is fully protected – plus it is 100% deductible anyway.

I guess you have to also value your time and Im sure you could make more than $99 using the time to work, study, time with family, or looking for other deals and creating more $$$ for yourselves. Plus where the leagl issue arises also is that the insurer can deny the claim and has a right to deny your claims or part deny them if they deem you have not used licensed/ experienced professionals, or kept the home/ unit in a regular maintenance schedule for electrical, wiring, smoke alarms- so I would not be taking the risk.

I have always taken the opinion and book in my diary every year the following and make sure my suppliers nad property managers have things booked in also-

Yearly termite inspection
Clean gutters 2 x per year or more if required
Property Mgr to check all lights/ switches/ screens/ and see if any water leaks etc and report to me
Correct smoke alarm maintenance- Have a company sign off that they are all checked, in correct order, satisfy legislation and can prove I have fulfilled my duty of care 100% and make sure they fax me the paperwork every time they do it.

Check all decking, stairs, timbers 3 x per year so as to check wood rot, loose timbers, danger for tenants

Make sure no bunk beds or bedding too close to windows for kids beds- as I had one tenants child fall out the window as was jumping on the bed and smashed through the screen and landed on the grass outside.

Ouch.
Reading this last post – I found it unkind, unhelpful, and … unnecessary.

businessglobal…. I was sympathetic to read about your unfortunate circumstances and understand why you are more cautious now.

Smoke Alarms yes simple but like anything electrical comes with a Caveat. 

1/ I find the maintenance cost high, but note if your house burns down then the onus is on you to prove that the smoke alarm was working???

2/ Just by pushing the test button does not mean the alarm is working, the only real way is to use synthetic smoke, or put your toaster underneath and burn some toast.

3/  Also remember that  whilst you pay insurance premiums, you cannot be sure you are actually insured until the insurer pays up (that is the test).

4/ If you use a third party and your house burns down and you can prove it was because of a faulty or poorly maintained smoke detector / alarm you may be able to sue the maintainer if they have professional indemnity insurance, always worth asking prior to engaging any person who does work on your property.

5/ Builders often use third parties for difficult or high risk work such as membranes in wet areas, the only reason is if it fails they have recourse.

Hi,

I have used "http://budgetsmokealarms.com.au" in the past and they are about half the price, any one else use them?

I have no affiliation with them but use them as they are cheap.

Regards

Here are some tips for the annual maintenance of smoke alarm for the safety life:

1. Replace batteries in all smoke alarms at least once a year
2. Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.
3. Be sure the smoke alarm has the label of a recognized testing laboratory
4. Replacement of faulty and expired smoke detectors where necessary.

I'm no electrician, but I cannot see how this is correct.  A smoke alarm is an appliance which will at some point have a fault or stop working.  The same applies to the electrical wiring.

There would be a form you would have signed to nominate whether you want them to handle maintaining it, or maintaining it yourself. Politely remind them of this and indicate you look forward to seeing your reimbursement for the error on your next statement. If it doesn’t show up, go the appropriate small claims route through Consumer Affairs (VCAT in Victoria).

Yes , I think detector inspector is right, Regular smoke alarm services and maintenance protect you and your family from the unexpected fire. Continuous testing and servicing of smoke alarm is important for life safety.