New Fire Alarm Legislation
The law on fire alarms changed on 1 February 2022. This means that all Scottish homes now need to have interlinked alarms.
The new law has come about because of the Grenfell fire in London in 2017, and it applies to all Scottish homes.
The Scottish Government has produced guidance for home owners including information on how you can receive help with costs as well as further details on the requirements you need to have in place:
What each home needs
It is the property owner's responsibility for meeting the new standard and the legislative checks are the responsibility of Environmental Health for private owners.
Please note that the council has no role in installing a new system in a privately owned home.
From February 2022 every home must have:
- one smoke alarm in the living room or the room you use most
- one smoke alarm in every hallway or landing
- one heat alarm in the kitchen
- All smoke and heat alarms should be mounted on the ceiling and be interlinked.
If you have a carbon-fuelled appliance - like a boiler, fire, heater or flue - in any room, you must also have a carbon monoxide detector in that room, but this does not need to be linked to the fire alarms.
For council tenants
As a social landlord, West Lothian Council is responsible for making sure that all council homes comply with this new safety standard.
While the majority of installations have been completed across our homes, tenants are asked that should they receive a notification from Building Services regarding an installation to please provide access for operatives to safely carry out the work.
If you are a council tenant and aren't sure if an installation has been completed at your property then please get contact Building Services: Email - ElectricalCompliance@westlothian.gov.uk or telephone 01506 283717
Disposing your old alarms
When you are changing your alarms, please do not to put old smoke detectors into your household blue or grey bins.
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) is made from valuable materials which can be recycled and - in some cases - contain hazardous materials which need to be treated properly.
The good news is that the old smoke detectors can be disposed of safely in the small mixed WEEE containers at West Lothian's Recycling Centres. These WEEE containers/skips are located within all of West Lothian's Recycling Centres and are clearly marked for small electrical items. If you are not sure where to place them, please ask a member of staff onsite.
Gillian Wilson, West Lothian Council's Contracts & Resources Manager said:
"It is very important that old smoke detectors are not thrown into household bins, but are placed into the WEEE containers at our Recycling Centres so they can be recycled responsibly.
"If you have old electrical and electronic items sitting in cupboards, drawers, your attic or your garage - don't throw them in the bin.
"Think about passing them on to family or friends, reselling them or giving them to a reuse organisation. If they can't be reused or resold, taking them to a local Recycling Centre can help protect the environment and preserve our natural resources."
Waste from businesses is not accepted at West Lothian's Recycling Centres.
