Fire alarm standard - alarms for deaf and deafblind people: guidance

1. Fire alarm accessories/alerts for deaf people

1.1 Introduction

One in five of the Scottish population are deaf, and may not be woken up by a conventional fire alarm system in their home. Deafness refers to people who are deaf, Deaf, deafblind, deafened, or hard of hearing, including d/Deaf BSL users. Due to people becoming deaf as they age, many people who are deaf are also living with sight loss and other disabilities.

Under new legislation, every home in Scotland must have a standard interlinked fire alarm systems fitted to alert people to any potential danger. The legislation specifies the type, and required location of these.

Specialist fire alarm accessories/alerts are available for those who may not hear a standard alarm. This includes flashing strobe lights, vibrating pads, vibrating pager alerts and mobile phone alerts, which will alert a person should there be a fire. This ensures that deaf people and those with hearing loss have the same protection from fire as everyone else.

Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) and local organisations across Scotland provide specialist fire alarm accessories/alerts for deaf people. You can contact your local HSCP for more information.

If you are a BSL user, you can use Contact Scotland BSL to make a call to your local Health and Social Care Partnership.