Fire and smoke alarms in Scottish homes

The law on fire alarms is changing, meaning all Scottish homes will need to have interlinked alarms by February 2022.

The legislation has been introduced by the Scottish Government following of the Grenfell Tower fire in London in 2017, and it applies to all Scottish homes.

Interlinked means if one goes off, they all go off, and it is the property owner’s responsibility for meeting the new standard.

Ahead of this change, please be aware that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service can’t recommend products or installers. We kindly ask that you do not contact your local fire station to enquire about this.

Guidance and further information can be found via the Scottish Government website (see link on this page).

SFRS Home Fire Safety Visits

To protect the most vulnerable, SFRS will only fit interlinked alarms into owner-occupied homes where the individual/household is assessed as “high risk” through our Home Fire Safety Visit assessment process.

If the individual / household does not meet these criteria, staff will provide safety advice, information and details of the revised legislation during the visit. Interim detection can also be supplied if the property has no detectors at present.

To request a Home Fire Safety Visit contact us on 0800 0731999 or text “FIRE” to 80800

Further Information

What each home needs

By February 2022 every home must have:

one smoke alarm in the living room or the room you use most
one smoke alarm in every hallway or landing
one heat alarm in the kitchen

All smoke and heat alarms should be mounted on the ceiling and be interlinked.

If you have a carbon-fuelled appliance – like a boiler, fire, heater or flue – in any room, you must also have a carbon monoxide detector in that room, but this does not need to be linked to the fire alarms.

Help with costs

It is the property owner’s responsibility for meeting the new standard.

If you are a private tenant, your landlord is responsible.

If you are a council or housing association tenant, work is ongoing to make sure your home meets the new standards.

Elderly or disabled people may be eligible for support to fit interlinked alarms from Care and Repair Scotland. They can be contacted via careandrepairscotland.co.uk or by calling 0141 221 9879.

Types of alarms

You can use either sealed battery alarms or mains-wired alarms.

Both types of alarm are interlinked by radio frequency and do not need WiFi.

There is no list of approved suppliers or fitters, however each alarm must comply with the following standards: