FIRE SAFETY AND SMOKE ALARMS

Early day motion 1980, tabled 22 June 2011 by Baroness Hoey (Labour). Signed by 32 members.

That this House notes with concern that a total of 223 people died in fires where a smoke alarm was present and 130 people lost their lives in fires where a smoke alarm was absent in 2008, the latest year for which there are figures; supports the installation of smoke alarms in every home and business; recognises that smoke alarms are an important development in fire safety which help save lives and reduce injuries but neither prevent nor extinguish fires or rescue people from those fires; furthernotes that every year firefighters rescue over 7,000 people from fires; further notes that response times to fires in dwellings have slowed by over 20 per cent. in the last 15 years; believes reliable and regularly inspected smoke alarms are not a substitute for frontline firefighters; and calls on the Government to take responsibility for ensuring that fire authorities do not reduce the number of firefighter jobs because of the widespread provision of smoke alarms.

Signatures by party: Labour 21, DUP 4, Liberal Democrat 3, Social Democratic and Labour Party 2, Independent 1, Plaid Cymru 1.