Health and Safety for Beginners Forums

I had a call from my Mother in Laws neighbour Tuesday morning. He is keeping an eye on the place while she's in hospital. He reported a flood from a burst pipe in the loft

I drove carefully () over and received a second call 50 m from her home. They neighbour was reporting smoke and should He call the fire service. By the time he asked, I had arrived

Sure enough, there was water pouring through the bedroom ceiling onto her bed and a whisper of light smoke coming from a bedside cabinet

A quick recce revealed it was the control unit which picks up a signal from her smoke detectors and vibrates a pad under her pillow (as she's a bit hard of hearing)

It was all dealt with in second as I simply disconnected it and removed it to the garden

I have been busy tidying and drying the place, but today I thought a bit more about the device. Surely it should be able to cope with a liquid spill. After all, it's not unusual for all of us - and especially the elderly - to spill tea or a glass of water on their bedside table

I will return the device to the local fire station (who fitted it) with a note suggesting they investigate further.

The irony of a smoke detector peripheral starting a fire is obvious, but when a vulnerable person is involved, it's not quite so funny

Oh my goodness Messy!

Thank goodness you were there and so pleased your Mother-in-Law wasn't there.

You seem to be having a terrible time at the moment with all your MIL difficulties.

It will be interesting what the fire service's investigations reveal.

I would have thought, for the same reasons as yourself, that the device would be able to cope with a spill. I wonder if it is a very old model that they had lying around!