A letter has been written by the chair of the Chief Fire Officers Association Home Safety Committee, highlighting the potential changes to legislation surrounding smoke alarms in private rented properties.
This issue would be debated in the House of Commons by Nick Raynsford today (May 7th), directly after Prime Minister's Question Time.
He urged everybody involved to watch this and to continue to back the proposal, which could save lives. This motion has come about as a result of a review of property conditions undertaken by the Department for Communities and Local Government ( DCLG ).
Mr Cashin, who is also deputy chief fire officer of Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, cited how a two-year-old girl died as the result of a fire in a property without a smoke alarm.
Libby-Jayne Hornsby was the victim of a blaze in her mother's rented property in Conisbrough, South Yorkshire. The CFOA believes her death may have been prevented, had a working alarm been installed.
Furthermore, Mr Cashin pointed out how this is most probably not the only time this has happened. For every situation like the one with Libby-Jane, there are two or three incidents of elderly or vulnerable people also dying as a result of a lack of an alarm.
It costs as little as £20 for a smoke alarm, which can last for as many as ten years. Making it imperative for these devices to be installed in private rented accommodation has won the support of various organisations, such as the National Landlords Association.
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