Carbon
monoxide detector 
Aico Ltd - Housing Hartlepool takes new tenant safety measures
Housing Hartlepool have been using Aico Ei
smoke and Carbon Monoxide (CO) alarms over the previous three
years or so on programmed new works and upgrading of their empty
properties to further improve tenant safety.
They are now in the process of further improving the protection
level by installing additional heat detectors sited in the
kitchens.
The Housing Association, which is responsible for some 7,500
properties, already prides itself in providing the very best
protection for its tenants with most of its properties protected
by quality mains powered smoke alarm systems.
"Tenant safety is our first priority," stresses Senior Technical
Surveyor Dave Crofton who, in conjunction with his Building
Services Manager Mr. G. Gill, has decided this is the way
forward and complies with BS.5839 Part 6. "We want to be seen as
a leader in the field, meeting the highest standards and taking
advantage of the latest and best technology. Simply put, it's
worth spending the extra to make everyone as safe as possible."
One innovation is to add heat alarms to existing smoke alarm
systems. When a property becomes void or is part of an
electrical upgrade scheme, a new Aico Ei160 series heat alarm is
automatically fitted in the kitchen and then interconnected with
the other property alarms.
"We know that kitchens are, statistically, a major source of
fires," says Dave Crofton. "We feel that adding a heat alarm is
an important extra safeguard for our tenants.
"We have used other manufacturers, but we like working with Aico
because they're always helpful with advice. I also particularly
like the Lithium Cell back up on their Ei160 Series because
tenants will not remove the cell."
A further safety innovation from Housing Hartlepool is the use
of mains powered Ei261 CO alarms from Aico, as the housing
association is well aware of the dangers posed by CO to tenants,
even with the best safety and maintenance regimes in place.
A mains-powered Ei261 CO alarm is positioned in a room where a
major gas appliance is present. This could be a gas fire in the
living room, or a gas boiler in a bedroom area. If more than one
source of potential danger is identified, extra Ei261 alarms are
installed and all the CO alarms on the property interconnected
for extra safety.Housing Hartlepool has also been quick to
identify the special needs of vulnerable tenants, and to take
extended steps to meet them. They are, for example, making
extensive use of Aico's Deaf Alarm fire safety technology where
needed. However, they're not content to confine protection just
to the bedroom area, and extend the coverage of their deaf alarm
systems to the whole property, by interconnecting it with other
alarms in the property and by adding additional warning strobe
lights where needed. The same safety measures are also being
applied to CO alarms, with Aico strobes used to warn the deaf or
hard of hearing when an alarm is raised.
"Tenant safety is our most pressing concern," emphasises Dave
Crofton, "and we intend to keep on innovating and leading the
way in providing the very best safety solutions for our
tenants."
Email:
Julie@publicityoverload.co.uk