WHEN it comes to saving a life, most people would probably agree that keeping themselves and their families safe from harm would be worth any amount of money.
Certainly, it seems hard to imagine anyone neglecting to spend a few pence on a battery
if it could help protect them, let alone turning down the chance to have a vital piece of lifesaving equipment installed in their home for free.
Yet that is happening every day across the Lothians, where thousands of homes are still without a working smoke alarm. This is despite a four-year campaign by Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade – now backed by local pop star KT Tunstall – which has seen them offering to install free smoke alarms across the area.
So just why is it that some people still do not realise the importance of having a working smoke alarm in their house? And what can be done to change their minds?
The argument for having a smoke alarm fitted – and keeping it in good working order – is a compelling one.
In almost every single fire-related death seen by local firefighters, the home has either not had a working smoke alarm, or has had an alarm with no battery.
The message is clear – fit a smoke alarm and it will almost certainly save your life, should a fire break out in your home.
Cost is not an issue – commercially, smoke detectors cost around £5, and even that outlay is now unnecessary. The fire brigade's free home safety checks see officers advise people on how best to protect their home against fire, and what to do in the event of an emergency.
Most importantly, the firefighters install, free of charge, smoke detectors with a ten-year power supply.
Since the start of the campaign in 2004, firefighters have visited 54,482 homes, and installed 59,942 fire alarms.
In that time the number of deaths in house fires has fallen from between 11 and 14 a year to around seven or eight, a drop the fire service says is directly linked to their home safety checks.
In that same period however, they have attempted to visit 209,477 homes, only to find many homeowners refusing the offer of having a free smoke alarm fitted.
While more and more people are taking them up on the offer, the figures show that it is still just over a quarter of people contacted that actually agree to the home safety check.
David Mallin, the community safety manager with Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade, admitted that despite their best efforts there were still thousands of homes in the Capital without smoke alarms, and even more which had faulty devices.
"It is so frustrating for us, but people just seem to take the attitude that it will never happen to them and so why should they bother," he said.
"A lot of the time it gets pushed down their priority list, and this is also true of replacing smoke alarm batteries. And yet it is a common thread that in almost every fire-related fatality we see in the Lothians, there will be either no smoke detector, or a smoke alarm with the battery pulled out."
Fire alarms have been with us for more than 100 years, and the first affordable smoke detectors appeared in 1967. Despite this long history, however, the smoke alarm is still dealing with a problem faced in its early years by another life-saving device – the seatbelt.
When they were first introduced people were reluctant to use seatbelts, partly because they were not fully aware of the benefits, partly because they never expected to be in an accident, but mainly because they saw it as an unnecessary inconvenience.
"It's a good analogy, and like the seatbelt there is also an element of 'it's a bit annoying and so I won't bother' in people's thinking," said Mr Mallin. "Nowadays most people wouldn't imagine not using a seatbelt, but sadly they will still put off getting a smoke alarm."
Another problem is that many people still see a smoke detector as something which only goes off when they burn the toast.
While this may still happen, technology has moved on a little, and modern detectors are less likely to go off unless there is heavy smoke in the house.
"When we fit the alarms, we also make sure they are in the right locations, so that they will really only go off if it is a fire," said Mr Mallin.
Councillor Mike Bridgman, convener of Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Board, admitted he found it difficult to understand why so many people still did not have a working smoke alarm in their home, and encouraged anyone without an alarm to contact the brigade as soon as possible.
"I do find it stunning that so many people do not have working smoke alarms, and even more shocking that people have turned down the fire brigade's offer of having a free alarm fitted," he said.
"We are talking about saving lives here, the lives of you and your family. The figures show that the number of fire-related fatalities has been falling since we started this campaign, and while they won't stop a fire they will give people a vital warning that can mean the difference between life and death.
"It may be that some people see them as an inconvenience as they might be set off by smoke from cooking or steam from a shower, but it is surely worth putting up with a little inconvenience if it saves your life."
For a free home safety check and free smoke alarm, call Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade on 0800 169 0320, or visit www.lbfire.org.uk
The full article contains 1000 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
