The Scottish Law for fire and smoke alarms is changing . . . Is your home ready?
From February 2022, every home in Scotland will be required by law to have interlinked fire alarms mounted on the ceiling. An interlinked fire and smoke alarm system is made up of alarms that communicate with each other, which means if one alarm goes off, they all go off so no matter where you are in your home, you should hear the alarm.
The new legislation which applies to all homeowners and landlords, states that every home in Scotland must have: –
- Smoke alarms in every circulation space on each storey, such as hallways and landings
- Smoke alarms installed in the room most frequently used for general daytime living purpose
- Heat alarms installed in every kitchen
- Smoke and heat alarms that are interlinked
- Carbon monoxide alarms fitted where a fixed fuel burning appliance (such as a gas fire), or a flue is located
This new legislation has been introduced to make sure all homes in Scotland have an effective system in place for detecting and warning you of smoke, fire, and carbon monoxide, following the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in 2017.
How will this affect you?
To make sure all our homes are ready for this change, over the next few months we will be upgrading any fire and smoke alarm systems that do not currently meet the new fire detection standard.
All households that are affected by this change will now have received a letter explaining that their home will be part of this upgrade programme. The letter also gives information about the contractor who will be carrying out the work in each home. If you have not received a letter and feel your home does not meet the legislation, please contact our Technical Services Team by either: –
- Calling the team on 0800 652 8104
- Emailing the team at Technical.Services@berwickshirehousing.org.uk
- Sending a letter to BHA, 55 Newtown Street, Duns, TD11 3AU
- Sending us a message on Facebook at @BHAThrivingCommunities.
Who will be doing this work?
After a successful tendering process, we have appointed R.M Markby and C.F Inkpen & Sons to carry out this work on our behalf. Below is a table showing the areas where each contractor will be working: –
| R.M Markby | C.F Inkpen & Sons |
|---|---|
| Allanton | Ayton |
| Birgham | Berwick-upon-Tweed |
| Chirnside | Burnmouth |
| Coldstream | Cockburnspath |
| Cranshaws | Coldingham |
| Eccles | Eyemouth |
| Foulden | Spittal |
| Gavinton | St. Abbs |
| Gordon | Tweedmouth |
| Grantshouse | |
| Greenlaw | |
| Hume | |
| Hutton | |
| Leitholm | |
| Paxton | |
| Preston | |
| Reston | |
| Swinton | |
| Whitsome |
If your home is affected, R.M Markby and C.F Inkpen & Sons will contact you directly to arrange a suitable start date for the installation. All employees for both contractors will carry company and personal ID and you should not allow access to anyone that does not show these to you.
The contractor is responsible for making sure that the work progresses quickly and is carried out to a high standard. However, we will be supervising and overseeing this contract, and as part of this we will be carrying out regular quality control checks in our homes.
If you have any concerns about the work taking place in your home, please contact our Technical Services Team. You can give the team a call on 0800 652 8104, email the team at Technical.Services@berwickshirehousing.org.uk, write to the team at BHA, 55 Newtown Street, Duns, TD11 3AU or if you prefer you can send us a message on Facebook @BHAThrivingCommunities.
When will the upgrade work begin?
Work began on Monday 4th October 2021 and all our homes will meet the new fire detection standards by February 2022.
What do you need to do?
Don’t worry our contractors will contact you and give you guidance on anything that may need to be done before works begin, such as moving furniture, emptying cupboards etc.
What will happen after the work has been completed?
We are committed to our customers and as part of this we would love to hear your feedback. Once the fire and smoke alarm installation has been completed in your home, we will send you a short Customer Satisfaction Questionnaire. It would be great if you could fill this in and send it back to us, you will then be entered into a prize draw where you could win a £25 Love2Shop voucher.
Where can you go for more information?
If you would like more information on our fire and smoke alarm installation programme you can contact our Technical Services Team by giving them a call on 0800 652 8104, emailing the team at Technical.Services@berwickshirehousing.org.uk, sending a letter to BHA, 55 Newtown Street, Duns, TD11 3AU or if you prefer you can send us a message on Facebook @BHAThrivingCommunities.
You can find more information on the new fire and smoke alarm legislation on the Scottish Government website, by visiting: https://www.gov.scot/publications/fire-and-smoke-alarms-in-scottish-homes/
Aico also have lots of helpful information on their website including a great video that guides you through the changes that the new legislation requires. Visit: https://www.aico.co.uk/homeowner/scottish-legislation/
RM Markby installed my new alarms ,he was very professional and he left no mess I cannot praise him enough ,a first class service
Thank you for this great feedback Ann, we will be sure to pass this on to RM Markby and the rest of the team here at BHA.