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20 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON
SUMME R 20 1 6
was settled out of court, a confidentiality
order was placed on the settlement and
a protection order was placed on the
documentation.
“Now, do you think that if ionisation
alarms activated at a safe level the
manufacturer would have done this?”
In 2007 the Standards Committee FP-
002
Fire Detection, Warning, Control and
Intercom Systems
identified an issue in the
testing of ionisation alarms and tried to
have an anomaly fixed.
“Specifically, the current edition allows
two pass criteria for the same product
[smoke alarms], resulting in different
performance outcomes,” the group wrote.
“Australia is the only country that uses
two different pass criteria: all
other regional and international
Standards use an acceptance criterion
based on light obscuration.
“CSIRO has reported to FP-002 that
the different criteria result in
significant differences in the
performance of smoke alarms.
“Photoelectric smoke alarms,
when tested in accordance with the
requirements of AS 3786 typically
respond between 8% and 16% obscuration
per metre (Obs/m) while ionisation smoke
alarms typically respond between 40%
and 60% light Obs/m, with the majority of
ionisation smoke alarms operating at the
least sensitive end of this range.
“Under the current Standard, ionisation
smoke alarms are permitted to have a
lesser response to obscuration, which
results in a significant negative impact on
the Available Safe Evacuation Time.
“Australian and international research
demonstrates that the highest number
of fatalities in residential fires occurs
between 8pm and 8am when occupants
are typically sleeping, and these fires
typically begin with a smouldering
phase. Of principle concern is the
impact of resultant smoke obscuration
and toxic species on the occupants’
ability to escape.”
Ultimately, the group was
unsuccessful in changing the Standard
to make testing consistent across the
two types of detectors.
DISMISSING EVIDENCE
Despite the wealth of evidence
against ionisation alarms, some groups
are staunchly against changing the
Australian Standard or the National
Construction Code (NCC) to favour
photoelectrics in residential applications.
The reasoning put forward is
sometimes unclear.
CSIRO executive director of
manufacturing, digital productivity and
services Anita J. Hill made a submission
to an inquiry into the use of smoke
alarms for preventing fatalities caused
by smoke and fire.
Dr Hill’s submission to the Senate
Legal and Constitutional Affairs
Committee included:
“CSIRO is aware of a longstanding
industry debate around smoke
detection technologies used in alarms,
usually categorised as photoelectric or
ionisation types...
“CSIRO’s review of the results of
Australian and international research
indicates a number of viewpoints on the
merits of each detection technology.”
In an interview with
60 Minutes
the
general manager of the Australian
Building Codes Board (ABCB), Neil