Smoke alarms in Spain

[RedRobyn2021]

Looking at going to Majorca and we are thinking of staying in an apartment. All the ones on Airbnb don't have smoke alarms and the ones I have looked at on booking.com just don't mention smoke alarms.

Am I missing something? If there is a fire is that not incredibly dangerous? 🤔

What do others do?

If there are gas appliances, I would be taking a CO alarm with me.

Don't think I've ever stayed in an Airbnb abroad with a smoke alarm. Its something we expect in the UK, but over countries don't.

Yes my partner said we could bring a c/o alarm and smoke detector, but the problem is they're apartments so what if there is a fire elsewhere in the building. It just seems crazy that they wouldn't have them... to me anyway

Is is really bad I’ve never thought about this ?!
currently in a 4th floor apartment in Spain 🤦‍♀️

@JessesMum777888

No it's not bad, I used to work in lettings, I think that's why I think about the safety aspect more. Otherwise it probably wouldn't occur to me tbh

Gosh I'd never thought of this before either OP. I certainly will from now on though. Thank you!

I’m Spanish. Smoke detectors aren’t a thing. Nobody has them in their house, schools or offices. Newer corporate buildings or hotels will do, but they’re extremely rare. Doesn’t bother me at all.

@PrachtStück what if there's a fire?

It doesn’t apply to all, but lots of Spanish homes are considerably less flammable than UK ones would be because of the building materials, which might explain some of the cultural difference. There’s a big difference between terracota or marble tiled floors and carpets on floorboards and between solid block walls and plasterboard.

How can it not bother you?? 😳

I am definitely bringing a smoke alarm with me on holiday after reading this thread!

How can it not bother you?? 😳

Not having smoke alarms didn’t bother people in the UK until relatively recently.

For those asking, this! Houses and flats are a lot less flammable than the standard UK home. No wood or carpets, less flammable structural materials. Statistically we don’t have any more people dying in house fires than the UK does.

Same as happened in the UK prior to 2015.

Health and safety over here is a very different creature to what you have in the UK – wait until you see the entire apartment blocks with no fire exits and doors that can only be unlocked with a key! 😂

Definitely this - the health and safety culture is based on an entirely different set of fears and priorities.
The number of people who die in house fires is much, much lower in Spain than in the UK, despite the lack of smoke alarms.

I live in Spain, I have several smoke alarms and a carbon monoxide alarm and everyone whose home I visit regularly has them, so I wouldn’t agree that nobody has them. They are on sale and someone must be buying them. They are part of the burglar alarm system of the bigger security companies and you can tell from the stickers on the doors that loads of people have systems from these companies. It’s always good to increase the number however small the risk but absurd to suggest that nobody in the entire country has them.

My friend died in an apartment in Spain with no smoke alarm (10 years ago). Is it not the law note in holiday rentals?

It's not the law, no. Firefighters have been pushing for it for years, and they've updated some laws on thermal insulation and ventilation in buildings in the last few years. But smoke alarms, not yet.

Bear in mind it was only last year that a law was passed here in Spain to say that animals are sentient beings, so... I think we've a way to go on a lot of fronts!

As a typical safety conscious Brit, it is amusing and terrifying observing different attitudes to H&S in different countries.

DP works in construction and likes to point out Spanish workmen doing things like cutting up paving flags using an angle grinder while wearing flip flops, or cranes and other machinery incorrectly sited and operated.

We were once in a hotel in Malta when the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night. Everyone was outside by the pool and the hotel staff wouldn't call the fire brigade because it would have cost them money. The guests were mostly British and no-one would go back into the hotel until they were happy there was no fire and after about an hour, two of our party (it was a group holiday) decided they would go and investigate (I think at least one of them was a fire officer at his work) and we went back in once they had reassured us it was an alarm fault and there was no fire.

But I do agree that the typical Mediterranean building is less likely to burn down than most British ones.

That's good to know, thank you

It is in the U.K. for definite. But I guess not in Spain. I'm sorry about what happened to your friend