NEW LAWS TO HELP REDUCE FIRE DEATHS

State Parliament last night passed legislation to help reduce fire dangers and save lives.

Emergency Services Minister Pat Purcell said the successful passage of the Fire and Rescue Service Amendment Bill 2006 was an important step forward for fire safety in Queensland.

“Lives will be saved and property losses will be reduced by this legislation. A key provision of the law requires all houses and units built before July 1, 1997 to have smoke alarms installed from July 1, 2007,” he said.

Mr Purcell said homes built after July 1, 1997 are already required to have smoke alarms installed.

“Since 1997 smoke alarm coverage has increased from 38.7 per cent of homes in 1996 to 84.2 per cent in 2005. This new law aims to lift smoke alarm coverage significantly,” he said.

“Smoke alarms are very important domestic safety devices. The risk of death from fire in a home is up to three times higher in homes without smoke alarms.

“In fact, here in Queensland over 78% of all home fire deaths occur in homes without smoke alarms."

Mr Purcell said that in Queensland since June 2004 19 people have died in house fires in homes that either did not have smoke alarms or had smoke alarms that did not work usually because batteries were removed or dead.

“These sort of tragic statistics show the serious risks presented by house fires and why we need to act to address this risk,” he said.

“If we can achieve 100% coverage of working smoke alarms in domestic residences, we could potentially save over 100 lives over 20 years and approximately $70 million in reduced property losses and injury costs.”

Mr Purcell said the legislation makes smoke alarms compulsory but leaves it to the householder to select what type of alarm to install.

“The minimum acceptable alarm will be a one-year battery alarm that meets the applicable Australian Standard. This type of alarm provides a reasonable level of protection provided that batteries are replaced regularly and the alarm is tested and cleaned in accordance with the alarm manufacturer’s instructions,” he said.

In rental properties, landlords will be required to install smoke alarms, replace them when needed, and test and clean them 30 days before a new tenancy starts. It will be the responsibility of tenants to annually clean and test the smoke alarm and check the battery.

Other provisions of the legislation include:

Queensland Fire and Rescue Service (QFRS) officers can impose a sliding scale of penalties (including up to three years imprisonment and a $150,000 fine) for breaching building fire safety regulations, and have explicit new powers to investigate the cause of fires.

Greater powers for QFRS to deal with owners and occupiers whose buildings have repeated false fire alarms. QFRS will work cooperatively to reduce false alarms, however, stakeholders who failed to reduce unwanted alarms would be issued a notice and contravention of the notice would constitute an offence.

Giving QFRS the power to require licensed premises to set and manage a specified safe occupancy limit, to ensure patrons can evacuate safely from a fire. The QFRS will work closely with the industry over the next two years to assess occupancy figures.

Media contacts: Tim Shipstone 07 3247 8194, 0409 620 571;
Daniel Landon 07 3247 8992, 0437 837 976.