to think that smoke alarms..

[igggi]

..need to go on the wall, not just on a table?
I don't think they can work as well at waist-height, but am having trouble explaining this to dh.

I have never heard of anyone putting a smoke alarm on a table. They should be fitted on the ceiling!

Why on earth does he want to put it on a table?

www.direct.gov.uk/en/homeandcommunity/inyourhome/firesafety/dg_071751

This will give you advice as to where to put a smoke alarm.

It's a compromise Parents-in-law have never had smoke alarms, when I found this out I bought two for them - but they just sit on tables. DH won't insist they go on the wall. I don't want to sleep over there anymore, with 2 dcs.

Yes they have to go on the ceiling! And it is a total piece of piss, 5 minute job - I am v DIY challenged and I managed it.

Apart from the fact that smoke alarms work most effectively if they are on a ceiling, why would anybody want them cluttering up a table unnecessarily . If you feel that strongly about it (we've got smoke alarms, but I'd never thought to check if my DPs have), then just say you won't stay until they're in their proper place.

Well I'd just tell them that. "I'm sorry, but for the safety of myself and the children, I'm not prepared to stay over any more until they are fitting properly."

This is one of the reasons DS doesn't stay at his dads.

Some people are just stupid stubborn.

Thank you, I think they think they've never had an alarm and no fires for years, so really not necessary.
And now they are on the tables, that's meant to be enough for me I think. It's amazing how hard some conversations can be to start, I'm angry with dh who said he would ask them yesterday, but then didn't bother

Tables? Wtf? Every smoke alarm I have seen is either on the ceiling or right at the top of the wall.

Bloody hell tell him my story then - we woke at midnight one night last December to the smoke alarm going off. Kitchen was full of smoke. We got out and called the fire brigade. 6 months of repairs later - including new kitchen, kitchen and living room walls replastered, all new soft furnishings, carpets. We lost over £15k of contents and the buildings cost around £35k. The firemen said of we hadn't had smoke detectors they would have been dragging our bodies out
Smoke detectors go on the ceiling because the smoke rises. As the room fills with smoke it gradually sinks. It took 7 minutes for the fire brigade to get to our house. When we escaped there was about 1 foot of smoke. When we surveyed the damage later it was at chest height. Get him to put them on the ceiling. End of.

I would ask the fire brigade to come round - they'll fit them for free and give advice about fire in general, sounds like he needs to hear it!

Surreptitiously get the DCs to play with them, setting the test button off whenever you go over, after a couple of times I bet they soon get put on the ceiling out of the reach of little fingers.

Glad you were all ok Havealittlefaith, a scary story indeed.

Yup, even the hamster was ok! If a little perplexed....
Seriously though, it could have been a lot worse.

Fire safety visit sounds like a good plan; wonder could I just arrange one as a 'surprise'?
Also liking Rubyrosie's idea - though their response would be to get rid of the alarms, I think!

I refuse to let DD stay over at peoples homes if I know they don't have a smoke alarm. When she stops at my mum and dads, I'll often check their smoke alarm batteries before I leave.

Paranoid...

I have always been a bit "fire alert" though, and at the age of 10 had planned everybodies route out of my parents ginormous (okay... not ginormous, but not the typical three bed semi) house. When their smoke alarm went off one night because the batteries were flat, dad found me standing to attention in the middle of the hallway, ready to spring into action.

I have three smoke alarms and three carbon monoxide alarms. I only have five rooms in my house.

They really do need to be on the ceiling and you should have a plan if there's a fire. A few months ago my fire alarm was malfunctioning and it went off at about 2am. I was so disoriented from being woken I ran around the house looking for a fire rather than getting to my children. I freaked out about that later- if there had been a real fire I might have lost my head totally. Secure alarms and a plan that everyone knows about, with the children knowing what to do and who to wait for.

with the children knowing what to do and who to wait for

Generally great plan Ooga but I was very grateful to have briefed and practiced 'Get out immediately; don't wait for adults' to my DDs. If they had waited, they would have died.

igggi my friend had a fireman round - her son thought it was awesome! Yes everybody should have an exit strategy, keys easily accessible, shoes! (DH was stood outside in December bare foot!). We were shocked at how disorientated we felt with the alarms going off and the smoke everywhere. Oh and pull the doors to when you go out or if you leave after finding a fire - it massively minimises the damage.

Elf, we have a similar approach!

Am wondering should I teach my older child (5) how to unlock his bedroom window to get out? (We live on the ground floor). Or would this lead to him escaping to run away with the circus when he's cross with me?

My friend had never had a fire in her whole life until the night the house caught fire and she and her kids narrowly escaped with their lives- because they had smoke alarms fitted!

In separate occasions, after a tiff with my dad, both my younger and older sister ran away from home, to run away to my grandparents and/or join the travelling circus. They both used the front door . I always knew I could get out of my bedroom window onto the living room roof and make an escape that way, but never actually sneaked out of the window.

After being trapped in a burning house at the age of 8 Hell would freeze over before i allowed my kids to sleep in a house without one.

I may be OTT with this but i have many escape plans, Fire extinguisher and i know i can chuck mattress out of the window. WITHOUT a working fire alarm you can't do nothing because the smoke will kill you before the fire itself

Why don't people have smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in the right place working properly? One of my pet hates :)

510 that's horrifying, I had no idea that was what should be done :( I've always been scared that they'd go get lost in the house or wander towards things. My youngest especially is the type to go look around. Do you have any links or anything for teaching them to get out by themselves?

Sorry for the bad advice.