RNID: For deaf and hard of hearing people.

About this factsheet

This factsheet is part of our equipment range. You will find it useful if you are deaf and want to find out about smoke alarms. We use the term 'deaf' throughout to refer to all types of hearing loss.

Read this factsheet to find out:

If you provide a service and want to find out more about your obligations to provide equipment under the Disability Discrimination Act, see our factsheet The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 – a guide for service providers.

In 2005, the British Standards Institution (BSI) published BS5446-3, a national standard on smoke alarm systems for deaf people. An amendment to this standard was published November 2007.

The standard calls these systems 'kits' and gives manufacturers technical design targets for their smoke alarm kits for deaf people. It also assures users that their smoke alarm system, if designed to this standard, will alert them in the event of a fire in their home.

How do smoke alarm systems for deaf people work?

A kit conforming to BS5446-3 has at least one of each of the following parts which, when connected together, form a smoke alarm system. These are:

  • a self-contained smoke alarm that makes a high-pitched noise when it detects smoke
  • a pad that vibrates when the alarm detects smoke. Place this pad under your mattress or pillow and follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully
  • a strobe light that flashes when the alarm detects smoke. Often, this is built into the control unit
  • a control unit that links the parts of the system and connects to the mains electricity. It may be a separate box or its functions may be included within other components
  • wires for connecting the above parts together – unless the system is wireless.
    The system might also include a vibrating wireless pager to alert you when you are moving around your home.

Systems conforming to BS5446-3 are powered by mains electricity and have a rechargeable back-up battery in case the mains fail. You can get cheaper battery-only systems but these will not meet the requirements of the standard.

If you are good at DIY, you can fit most smoke alarm systems yourself if you follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.

What are the different types of smoke alarm?

There are two main types of smoke alarm, which detect smoke in different ways. Ideally, you should fit the correct type for different parts of your home, but any smoke alarm is far better than none at all.

  • Ionisation detectors are particularly sensitive to free-burning fires – for example, chip pan fires. They detect these fires before the smoke becomes thick.
  • Optical detectors are more effective at detecting slow-burning fires, like overheated electrical wiring. They are less likely to go off accidentally or when you’re cooking.

Other types of detection

  • Heat detectors detect heat, rather than smoke. They are a little more expensive than smoke alarms and not as widely used, but you may be able to add one to your system for extra protection.
  • Carbon monoxide detectors detect carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas with no smell, taste or colour. They can alert you to a boiler or gas fire that is not burning correctly.

Although you may wish to use these detectors for safety, do not use them instead of smoke alarms.

Where should I put my smoke alarm?

You need at least one smoke alarm on each floor – usually in the hall and on each landing. It's a good idea to fit one in your bedroom, if you think a fire could possibly start there too. The best location is usually on the ceiling, near, or at, the middle of the room or hall.

Fires can start anywhere, so the more alarms you have, the quicker you are alerted.
 
Do not put smoke alarms in corners. They should also be placed at least 30cm (1ft) away from any adjoining wall or light.

You can add strobe lights to some systems.

Where should I put the alarm control unit?

If the system includes a control unit, put this close to your bed so that you can easily see and understand the meaning of any warning lights.

The control unit needs to be fixed to a wall or placed on a flat surface, such as a bedside table. It is usually linked by wire to the smoke alarm(s), but in some models the connection is wireless.

Some models connect to a vibrating alarm clock, so you don't have to use separate vibrator pads. If your system does this, take time to familiarise yourself with the alarm clock's patterns of vibrations, which should be clearly distinguishable for the smoke alarm function. You need to know whether you've been woken because it's time to get up, or because there's a fire in your home!

What kind of alert should I use?

Research has shown that vibration is the most reliable way to wake a deaf person from deep sleep so, for safety, put a vibrating pad under your mattress or pillow while you sleep.

Smoke alarm systems conforming to BS5446-3 include a strobe light that flashes when the alarm goes off. This can help to wake you at night, and it might be the only way of letting you know there is a fire during the day, unless you have a pager system (see What are multi-alerting systems? ).

If your smoke alarm system only has one strobe light and it is in the bedroom, remember that you may not know it is flashing when you are in other parts of the house.

What if my home already has a smoke alarm installed?

Since 1992, UK regulations have required all new homes to be fitted with self-contained smoke alarms on each floor of the house. These must be interconnected, which means that if one smoke alarm detects smoke, it will set off alarms in all the units. However, these will be standard smoke alarms, which will only alert you if you are able to hear the piercing sound that they make if there's a fire. Smoke alarm kits conforming to BS5446-3 must include at least one smoke alarm (detector) as part of the kit.

Even if it is technically possible to connect your system to an existing smoke alarm, you should only do this on the advice of the supplier of your new system. If you are in any doubt, we would advise you to leave the existing alarm in place and set up your new system separately. This is because the existing smoke alarm may be old and not as effective as it was when new.

How do I test my smoke alarm is working?

A vital feature of BS5446-3 smoke alarm kits is 'fail-safe' monitoring. This means that if a fault develops in the connections between different parts of the system, a light will flash to warn you. A light will also flash if:

  • the vibrating pad is disconnected from the control unit, or
  • the system becomes unplugged at the mains, or if
  • there's a failure of the back-up battery (this is a requirement for both wired and radio-linked systems).

The fire service recommends that you test your smoke alarm system every week using the test button on the alarm. This will let you check the whole system. You usually need two people to carry out the test – one to press the button and the other to check that the vibrating pad and strobe lights are working.
 
Control units often come with test buttons, which is a handy way to test that the vibrator and strobe light are working. While this won’t test the smoke alarm on the ceiling, it might test the wiring to it. Some systems start an automated test sequence when you press the test button, so you might need to wait a short time for it to be completed.

About twice a year, open the case on the smoke alarm detector and gently vacuum inside using your vacuum's soft-brush attachment. If you can't open the case, vacuum through the holes.

Battery-operated smoke alarms need their batteries changing according to the manufacturer's recommendations, or when the battery low warning is given. If it's a 10-year alarm, the batteries won't need changing but the complete alarm should be replaced after this time, because the detector part may not be as effective as it was when new.

What are multi-alerting systems?

Multi-alerting systems use flashing lights, vibrations or loud ringers to attract your attention to various everyday events around your home such as:

  • the doorbell
  • a telephone ringing
  • a baby crying.

Some also have other safety functions. They can warn you about the presence of smoke or carbon monoxide (a poisonous gas), or your burglar alarm going off.

Most systems use a small vibrating pager that you can clip to your clothing. This means the pager will alert you to smoke (or other events) wherever you are in the home as long as you are wearing it. Make sure that the pager works in all areas of your home by getting someone to press the test button on the smoke alarm. At night, you plug the pager into a charger unit, which is connected to a vibrating pad you can put under your mattress or pillow.

Because fire detection is so important for your safety, it is essential that no other features on a multi-alerting system interfere with the correct operation of the smoke alarm function. This is a requirement of any system that meets BS5446-3.

If you are interested in these products, see our Multi-alerting systems factsheet.

How much do these smoke alarms cost?

Mains-powered systems with battery back-up that conform to BS5446-3 cost from about £90.
If you are deaf or severely hard of hearing, your local social services or fire and rescue service may provide you with a suitable smoke alarm free of charge.

Where can I buy equipment from?

RNID Products sells a range of equipment for deaf people. You can buy some of the equipment online, or send off for a copy of the Solutions catalogue.
RNID Products, 1 Haddonbrook Business Centre, Orton Southgate, Peterborough PE2 6YX
Telephone 0870 789 8855 Textphone 01733 238020 Fax 0870 789 8822
solutions@rnid.org.uk
Visit our shop (opens new browser window)

Where can I get further information?

Fire Services

For more information or advice on fire safety contact your local Fire and Rescue Service. Look in your local phone book, visit the government's Fire Kills website (external link, opens new browser window) or this independently-run fire information website (external link, opens new browser window). 

Further information from RNID

Our Information Line offers a wide range of information on many aspects of deafness and hearing loss. Contact us for further copies of this factsheet and our full range of information factsheets and leaflets. You can also contact us if you would like information in Braille, on audiotape or large print.

RNID Information Line
RNID Information Line, 19-23 Featherstone Street, London EC1Y 8SL
Telephone 0808 808 0123 Textphone 0808 808 9000 Fax 020 7296 8199
informationline@rnid.org.uk
Visit our Information Line website