Smoke Alarm Installation In Council Houses to be Completed Within a Year

12.00.00am GMT Mon 27th Mar 2006

Council tenants are to benefit more quickly from life-saving smoke detectors - at a fraction of the original cost to the taxpayer.

The Council's Liberal Democrat cabinet has decided to switch from installation of 'hard-wired' alarms (those connected to a property's own electricity supply) to lithium battery-powered ones which have a life of 10 years.

The lithium battery smoke alarms are far quicker and simpler to install, as they can be fitted at the same time as the annual gas service is carried out by an engineer. And they will last as long as the 'hard-wired' version.

The original programme to fit smoke alarms in all council houses was launched two years ago, at a projected cost of £1 million. Under the new scheme the cost will be slashed to around 20% of this - and almost all homes will be fitted out within a year.

Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Fire and Rescue Service will be providing free training to the gas engineers who will be installing the smoke alarms. And, as a sign of their support, they are generously providing the first 1,000 alarms free of charge.

Councillor Irene Henderson, Liberal Democrat cabinet member responsible for housing, said: "It is vital to install smoke alarms in council tenants' homes: it is well known that they can save lives. It's good news that we now have a quicker, more cost-effective and more efficient way forward, and we are also pleased to be working closely with the fire service."