APARTMENTS and fire safety are pretty much on everyone’s mind since Priory Hall.
But less than 1 per cent of private landlords comply with 2008 fire safety regulations for rental properties, reckons Professional Tradesmen, a company which carries out inspections for insurance companies, local authorities and anybody with multiple properties.
The regulations mean that all apartments must have a smoke alarm and a fireblanket. Tradesmen carried out a survey of 300 properties which showed how few complied – and that’s when it decided to source a safety pack to sell to landlords, says managing director Ann Millar.
It found a company in Shannon, EI Electronics, which makes two packs, one for €140 (incl Vat) and another for around €200.
The basic “tenant safety” pack has two smoke alarms and a fire blanket; the more expensive also includes a heat alarm, carbon monoxide detector and a fire extinguisher.
Millar accepts that there are cheaper products on the market but says “you get what you pay for. We’re selling a quality product – it’s not about making money, it’s about creating awareness and compliance”.
Individuals can buy the pack too, of course.
