Adrian Butler is chairman of the World Fire Safety Foundation. The Foundation is a non profit global organisation, dedicated to saving lives by exposing the defective nature of the *type* of smoke alarms installed in homes around the world and promoting the safe and affordable alternatives.
Overwhelming evidence proves that ionization smoke alarms that use radio active components are not safe because they do not detect smouldering fires, the type of fire that commonly kills.
The Foundation's website provides evidence of fire-fighter and scientific testing that exposes the existing flawed standards testing, that has allowed ionization smoke alarms to be certified as safe and sold to the public for over forty years.
It is estimated that tens of thousands of people have been injured or killed globally as a direct result of ionization alarms failing to sound a timely warning.
Since April 2004 new legislation requires that certain Australian commercial buildings must install photoelectric smoke alarms in all sleeping areas and exit paths. Despite Standards Australia having now acknowledged that the testing of ionization smoke alarms is flawed, the change to the standard affecting homes continues to be blocked, without justification, putting Australian and New Zealand lives at needless risk.
What you as listeners can do.
Contact:
New Zealand Fire Service; www.fire.org.nz New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union; www.nzpfu.org.nz Fire Services are the responsibility of Hon. Richard Worth, Minister of Internal Affairs;http://www.dia.govt.nz