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According to the law 2010-238, voted March 9^th 2010, every living place empty or occupied will have to be provided with smoke detector equipped before March 8^th 2015, call Mademoiselle Julie to install it for you!

 

WHY IS IT USEFUL?

 

 

 

 

A few figures:

• 250 000 fires a year i.e 1 fire every 2 minutes
• 800 people who died due to domestic fires
• 1 fire out of 4 is due to a poor electric equipment
• 70% of murderous fires take place during the night
• In Quebec where smoke detectors have been compulsory over the last 30 years, the death rate due to fires has been reduced of 2/3.

So to improve the fire safety and reduce the death rate due to fires, the law 2010-238 of the 9^th of March 2010, voted March 2014, makes compulsory the installation of autonomous detectors smoke warning in every living place before March 8^th 2015.

 

WHY SHOULD YOU INSTALL SMOKE DETECTORS?

These appliances will enable you to detect the smokes emitted right from the beginning of a fire and moreover a loud warning will be emitted and strong enough to wake up a sleeping person.

 

WHICH LIVING PLACES ARE CONCERNED?

Every living place whether it is empty or occupied is concerned: main homes, holiday homes, rented private or state lodgings new or old.

This instalment has to be paid by the owner of the lodging whether he lives in it or rent it.

As far as renting lodgings are concerned, the obligations are shared:

• The owner is the only one to be responsible of the first instalment and of its working when he rents it
• If the lodging is on the way to be rented, the owner has to provide and install, if it is necessary, the recommended number of detectors to his tenant
• The tenant has to maintain them and to check its good working: to change the batteries, to replace the appliance when it doesn’t work any longer

A few exceptions: holiday renting, accommodation which goes with your job…..    and host lodgings, the owner has to install and maintain the smoke detector.

 

WHAT EQUIPMENT TO CHOOSE?

The choice of the equipment is important. Many surveys done by the magazine “60 Millions de Consommateurs” in 2009 and the magazine “Que choisir?” in 2012 underline worrying facts on the sold smoke detectors which are said no to be reliable. So they give us 2 characteristics which are required:

• On the smoke detector it must be written CE EN 14604
• And it must be in keeping with the standard NF EN 14604

Other characteristics have to be taken into account as well:

• It will have to be provided with a sign of voltage
• This sign must work even if the detector isn’t linked to the main electric supply and in case there is a power failure
• To be provided either by batteries or linked to the main electric supply
• The law imposes a minimum autonomy of one year of the batteries
• If the battery is empty which would damage the working of your smoke detector, your smoke detector will have to be equipped with a visual signal or a ringing sound different from the one for the fire so that you will be warned
• It is compulsory that it emits an alarm, the sound has to be at least 85dB(A) and to be heard at 3 meters

 

The working expectancy of a battery

All detectors are provided with a battery. The working expectancy is said to be:

• 1 year for an alkaline battery
• 5 years or 10 years for a lithium battery

The detectors with lithium battery are on the life those which are the most interesting financially and as well very handy.

 

Independent or interconnected?

In big houses on several levels, it might be necessary to choose interconnectable detectors. So they will transmit the alarm to all the detectors and therefore to be warned if the fire starts in a room far from the one where you are. According to the model, the link is done with or without a wire.

 

HOW TO MAINTAIN THE SMOKE DETECTOR?

For every detector there is a button “test” which enables you to check the good working of the alarm, don’t hesitate to use it.

• Think of regularly taking off the dust to avoid it clogs up
• Don’t forget to replace the batteries. A ringing different from the alarm will warn you that the batteries are worn out

 

WHAT APPROACH DO YOU HAVE TO DO BY YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY?

The tenant or the owner which occupies the lodging must notify the setting up of the fire detector by giving a certificate to his insurance company which garantees his damage in case of fire.

According to the insurance, if you don’t have this proof in case of fire, you will have to prove that you were in keeping with the law by providing the invoice of the detector or of its installation.

If you don’t have these required papers, your insurance might give you less money or even nothing.

 

HOW MADEMOISELLE JULIE CAN MAKE THINGS EASIER FOR YOU?

So as to be well protected and in keeping with the law, Mademoiselle Julie offers you to install your smoke detectors.

As this service is in the context of “odd jobs” of the law Borloo and as Mademoiselle Julie is a company recognized “Service à la Personne” N° SAP 751 898 792, for this service, you can have a rebate of 50% on your income taxes according to the law.