The First Four Documents

E X P O S I N G F L AW E D S M O K E A L A R M S TA N D A R D S

The Story

Flawed Detectors Pass The Test

Ionization alarms are dangerous and the public have been misled into believing they are safe. . . . In our opinion the Standard is flawed.
David Isaac, Standards Australia FP002 Committee Member The Sun-Herald, 16 June 2013, page 11 (see page 4)

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The Story Published: 17 June, 2013 - Updated: 10 September, 2013 | Latest Version: zwww.SmokeAlarmWarning.org/thestory.html

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The Story

he World Fire Safety Foundation (WFSF) was cofounded in March 2000. Our mission is to save lives by educating the public and firefighters about the safe photoelelectric alternative to the ionization type of smoke alarm in millions of homes around the world. Every year thousands of people are injured or killed because awed safety standards allow ionization smoke alarms to be certied as safe by Government testing agencies and sold to an unsuspecting public. Chances are almost 100% ionization alarms are in your home. But Im OK! You may be thinking, My smoke alarms are ne - theyre really sensitive they go off when I cook, or Im ne, mine are hard-wired. Dont be fooled! Ionization smoke alarms are insidious - they lull people into a false sense of security by false alarming when you cook yet they often remain

silent during the smoldering low-heat, early stage of real, life-threatening res. The First Four Documents The Foundations primary website has over 400 pages. It is overwhelming. Thats why we came up with The First Four Documents. The rst two documents, The Story and The Speech are for the public. Youll learn how the truth about ionization smoke alarms has been withheld from the public and reghters for over forty years resulting in tens of thousands of needless deaths and injuries around the world. Spread the Word After youve read the newspaper report on page 4 and heard the 5 minute Parliamentary speech protect your family with photoelectric alarms - then please Like Us on FaceBook to help spread the word. Thank you.
The World Fire Safety Foundation Adrian Butler & Karl Westwell Co-Founders , QLD, Australia | September, 2013

Background Information
into the growing global movement to ban the ionization type of smoke alarm in hundreds of millions of homes around the world...

DEADLY Smoke Alarms - Tour 1

Australia/New Zealand | May, 2011

A u s t r a l i a s F l a w e d S m o k e Alarm Standard Exposed

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. . . t h e i o ni zati on a l arms h a ve fa i l e d * A u stra l i a n Sta n d a rd s si nce 1 9 9 3

DEADLY Smoke Alarms - Tour 2

Australia/New Zealand | May, 2012 US Firefighter Meets Australian Politician

*Channel

9 N e w s - 11 May, 2011

WFSF Co-Founder s Recognized for changes to U.S.Smoke Alarm Legislation

Chief Marc McGinn, California, USA presenting WFSF Co-Founders Adrian Butler and Karl Westwell with his Californian Assembly Resolution | 14 May, 2013

Mr Chris Gulaptis MP, Captain Russell Ashe and WFSF Chairman Adrian Butler discussing flawed ionization smoke alarm testing standards. Captain Ashe is a Committee Member of Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the organization that produces Americas awed smoke alarm standard (UL217).

The Story Published: 17 June, 2013 - Updated: 10 September, 2013 | Latest Version: zwww.SmokeAlarmWarning.org/thestory.html

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The Story

Background Information - Continued

DEADLY Smoke Alarms - Tour 2
Austr al ia/New Ze a land | May, 2012

Captain Ashe Australian Radio Interview

Grafton, NSW | 04 May, 2012
Listen to the ABC radio interview below and nd out why the U.S. reghters meeting with Australian Member of Parliament made front page news.

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Captain Ashes story about flawed US & Australian smoke alarm standards

The First Four Documents For Everyone For Firefighters & Legislators

The Story
Flawed Detectors Pass The Test
The Sun-Herald Sydney, Australia
16 June, 2013

The Report
World Fire Safety Foundation Report Exposing Flawed Smoke Alarm Standards
20 May, 2013

Can Australian and U.S. Smoke Alarm Standards be Trusted?

The Speech
Are Ionisation Smoke Alarms Defective? Speech to the NSW Parliament, Australia
20 June, 2013

The Open Letters

Open Letters to UTC & CSIRO Exposing Flawed Smoke Alarm Standards
May, 2009 ~ July, 2013

UTC and CSIRO Failures to Disclose

The Story Published: 17 June, 2013 - Updated: 10 September, 2013 | Latest Version: zwww.SmokeAlarmWarning.org/thestory.html

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The Story

Flawed detectors pass the test

Fanning the flames: Experts say homeowners should check which type of smoke alarm they have at home. Photo Stock

EXCLUSIVE Tim Barlass

ouse res this winter will unnecessarily claim lives because most homeowners have installed smoke alarms which pass a awed Australian Standard, experts say. The way the detectors, called ionisation alarms, are triggered not by visible smoke - means that they may not send out the alert for vital minutes or may remain silent. Such is the level of concern that an MP will this week make a statement in federal Parliament warning of the need to check on which type is installed. Chris Gulaptis, Nationals member for Clarence, will urge householders to use an alternative type known as photoelectricsmoke alarms which detect visible smoke. He said: I have a moral obligation to inform people that where they think they may be safe with their smoke alarms, theyre not. Ionisation smoke alarms wont go off until there is a ame while the photoelectric ones pick up a smouldering re like a cigarette on a couch or an electrical re and can pick it up hours earlier. Standards Australia even redrafted the requirements

Alarmed? Perhaps you should be

Ionisation alarm Measures particles under one micron (invisible to the human eye) but not required to pass a test for visible smoke. A ame detector does not respond until more than 50per cent smoke in testing conducted by CSIRO. Installed in most homes. Photoelectric alarm Must pass test for visible smoke typically generated in early smouldering stages of a re. Alarm responds typically at 8 to 12per cent visible smoke in testing conducted by CSIRO. Installed in most commercial buildings.

What they say Fire & Rescue NSW To maximise the opportunity for early warning in all fire scenarios, it

recommends the installation of photoelectric alarms, hard-wired and interconnected, in all residential accommodation. If only installing one alarm, it should be a photoelectric alarm.

but the amendment was rejected by the building industry. David Isaac, a member of the Australian Standards committee for smoke detection, said the building regulator should specify photoelectric alarms or change the standard so all detectors must pass the visible smoke test. The Australian Standard allows an ionisation alarm to pass the standard test at more than twice the visible smoke level than a photoelectric alarm, he said. Ionisation alarms are dangerous and the public have been mislead into believing they are safe. Some res can smoulder

for hours and an ionisation alarm wont pick them up until it bursts into ames. If the ionisation alarm is not in the room where the re starts it probably wont detect it even when its aming until it is way too late. In our opinion it [the standard] was awed, thats why we attempted to change it but it was vetoed by the regulator. Dont underestimate the lobbying power of the manufacturers, we are talking about a billion-dollar industry and these corporations dont a p p e a r t o h a v e a conscience. In the US, Boston Fire Department chief Jay Fleming blames ionisation

alarms for as many as 10,000 deaths since 1990. Adrian Butler, a former re ofcer, was partner in a franchise that installed tens of thousands of ionisation alarms in Australia but when he discovered they were failing he started the World Fire Safety Foundation to alert the public. He wrote last month to CSIRO which conducts the tests to ask if the tests could be lmed by the media but has not had a reply.

smh
.com.au

On the web
Video: Stop the Children Burning

The Story Published: 17 June, 2013 - Updated: 10 September, 2013 | Latest Version: zwww.SmokeAlarmWarning.org/thestory.html

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