When the clocks change, check your fire alarm

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The UK reverts to Greenwich Mean Time at 2am on Sunday, October 30 when all clocks are turned back to 1am at that time.
Most electronic devices these days will change the time for you, so you’ve no need to worry but we want to make sure residents do not miss that extra hour.

Evenings will become noticeably darker, with dusk falling as early as 4pm – just as schoolchildren are travelling home and rush hour in York begins.

When changing your clocks manually, it is also a good time to check the batteries in your smoke alarm.

Working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms can save your loved ones’ lives as well as your own.

Early detection of fires saves lives and can reduce damage to house and contents. Smoke alarms provide the best early warning system in the event of a fire by combining smoke detection and alarm sounding in one unit. Statistics show that fewer deaths or serious injuries occur in households where smoke alarms are installed and maintained.

For further information on these lifesaving devices go to http://www.fireservice.co.uk/safety/smoke-alarms

 

New law means from 1 October private rented homes must have working smoke alarms on each floor

Smoke-AlarmsTo offer greater protection to tenants in the private rented sector, from 1 October, a new law requires that private landlords must fit all of their properties with smoke alarms by this date.

The law (Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015) says that a working fire alarm must be fitted on each storey with a room which is wholly or partly used as living accommodation.

While the law says that it’s the landlord’s responsibility to make sure the alarm is working when a tenancy starts after the 1 October, tenants must regularly check that it is working. If it is not and it is a battery-powered detector they should change the batteries or let their landlord know if it is a mains wired alarm.

The law also says a carbon monoxide alarm must be fitted in any room which has a coal fire, wood burning stove or similar solid fuel burning appliance, and where the room is partly or wholly used as living accommodation.

The landlord or manager of a property failing to meet the new regulations could face a fine of up to £5,000.

Please contact the Council’s Housing Standards and Adaptations Team at housing.standards@york.gov.uk or on 01904 552300 if you have any concerns.