All houses in Queensland are required to be fitted with smoke alarms, but just ticking a box to say “done” is not enough to ensure the safety of your family.

The typical detector installed in the majority of homes works via ‘ionisation‘, however studies show that these detectors generally only give a few minutes notice in the event of a serious house fire due to their operational technology.

Photoelectric detectors operate in a different manner, and are able to detect fires whilst in the smouldering stage, giving critical additional warning time.   They are also less likely to be set off by cooking blunders.

Whilst there are pros and cons for either technology, research shows that photoelectric detectors are far more effective in giving accurate and effective warning of house fires, and QFES recommends the installation of this technology in addition to existing ionisation systems.  If you are installing new detectors, ensure that they are photoelectric, and if you want to cover both warning systems, you can get detectors fitted with both photoelectric and ionisation technologies.

Give us a call on 5432 4099 to discuss your home, we are happy to help you increase the safety of your family.

For more detailed information, see the QFES Fact Sheet.