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Popular fire alarms take up to 10 minutes to sound - and may be too slow to save your life

It comes after Grenfell tower burned down as a result of a faulty fridge which caught fire - Getty Images Europe
It comes after Grenfell tower burned down as a result of a faulty fridge which caught fire - Getty Images Europe

Older types of household fire alarms are taking twice as long to go off in a fire than newer models, a Which? study has found.

Tests done by the consumer watchdog have revealed that older-style "Ionisation" fire alarms can take nearly ten minutes to sound after a fire starts.

This is around four minutes longer than newer-style "optical" alarms, which take just over five minutes to go off. 

Despite slow reaction times and in one case failure to go off at all, all alarms tested had been approved by the British Standards Institution which does not set a maximum acceptable time frame for alarm reactions.

Neil Wallington, former chief fire officer of Devon fire Brigade, described the difference between the waiting times as "potentially the difference between life and death". 

He said: "A delay of nearly ten minutes is completely unacceptable because people could die within that time frame. Fire is very unforgiving and smoke is the real killer. When escaping a burning building minutes are absolutely critical. 

"Anyone who finds they have an alarm which is slow to react to smoke should get in touch with the manufacturer as soon as possible."

fire  - Credit: LFB / SWNS.com
London Fire Brigade is urging Whirlpool to change advice on faulty white goods after a tower block blaze caused this damage Credit: LFB / SWNS.com

It comes as the contractor responsible for defective fire alarms at Grenfell Tower is being investigated by fraud squads after accusations it installed ineffective safety equipment in hundreds of London properties.

Faulty white goods in homes are a leading cause of house fires in the UK and according to the London fire Brigade three fires a day are caused by tumble dryers, which are often run when people are out or asleep.

Which? said the safety consequences of a slow-to-sound fire alarm could be significant and has called for a new, tougher standard that only rewards models that sound more quickly. 

The BSI is shortly due to review its fire alarm standard. 

To establish reaction times Which? conducted series of four controlled fire tests of 15 smoke alarms, with two of each alarm tested.

One of the two samples of a £50 Devolo alarm tested failed to sound at all in two of the fire tests performed. 

Alex Neill, Which? managing director of home products and services, said: "People will be surprised to see such a big variation in response times from alarms that are currently classed as being safe and which pass the standard. "We want to see stricter testing criteria because every minute counts in a fire."

Devolo said the detector in question passed test procedures in two certified German laboratories and all its alarms were certified in accordance with EN 14604.

It said: "These results are a matter of serious concern for Devolo. Safety is the company's number one priority and we meet the highest international standards.

"We are therefore extensively investigating all details of the test in co-operation with our partners."