Smoke alarm to be controlled from a wheelchair

[Guest VernonSm]

i need a replacement smoke alarm that can be accessed from a wheelchair ie tested,turned on/off from a wheel chair.

can you help?does anyone make a wall mounted or low fitted smoke alarm

[Safelincs]

Hi Vernon

To answer the second query first: In a domestic environment you really need the smoke alarm fitting to the ceiling to ensure you get a earliest possible warning. Saying that, I just stayed in a holiday cottage where the smoke alarm was fitted on face height!!

There are radio-interlinked smoke alarms with handheld controllers that allow you to silence and test the smoke alarms without getting on chairs etc.

The Ei600 series RF models allow remote testing/hushing/locating with a handheld fob

All the alarms are interlinked with each other as well to make sure the alarm is heard all over the house.

Harry

[Tom Sutton]

Saying that, I just stayed in a holiday cottage where the smoke alarm was fitted on face height!! Harry

Harry there will be places that will ignore the rules and I would suggest that smoke detector is next to useless I would stick to BS 5839-6:2004 which states,

Detectors should be mounted on ceilings and should be located at least 300 mm horizontally from any wall or light fitting unless, in the case of light fittings, there is test evidence to prove that the proximity of the light fitting will not adversely affect the efficiency of the detector.

Ceiling-mounted detectors should be located such that their sensitive elements are between 25 mm and 150 mm below the ceiling in the case of heat detectors, or between 25 mm and 600 mm below the ceiling in the case of smoke detectors.

If ceiling mounting is impracticable, in rooms and hallways not exceeding 10 m in both length and breadth, and not exceeding 50 m2 in area, detectors may, alternatively, be mounted on a wall provided that, the top of the detection element is between 150 mm and 300 mm below the ceiling, the bottom of the detection element is above the level of any door opening and the manufacturer’s instructions state that the detector is suitable for wall mounting.

There are other recommendations but the above is the principle ones relating to siting.