We at Skövdebostäder have decided to install smoke detectors in all of our more than 5,700 apartments.
“It goes without saying that all our tenants should have a working smoke alarm. It’s a matter of safety and security in the home,” says Philip Malmström, district manager for the Northern District at Skövdebostäder.
For the most part, we have smoke alarms with built-in lithium batteries—and in those cases, the entire unit is replaced. In areas where there are no smoke alarms with built-in batteries, the batteries are replaced regularly instead. The service life for both types of smoke alarms is approximately 10 years.
“For various reasons, the smoke alarms or their batteries may still need to be replaced sooner,” Philip explains. “This could be due, for example, to manufacturing defects or environmental factors such as dust and grease, which can impair the smoke alarm’s performance.”
Proper Placement of the Smoke Detector
Anna Nyberg is one of Skövdebostäder's neighborhood managers.
“The smoke alarm should be mounted on the ceiling, at least 50 cm from the nearest wall,” Anna explains. “It sounds the alarm faster when mounted on the ceiling because smoke rises and enters the smoke alarm from above. The distance from the wall is important to prevent air currents from delaying the alarm,” she continues.
“Many people think a smoke alarm should be placed in the kitchen. It’s easy to assume that’s the best spot, but that’s where the risk of false alarms is highest,” says Anna. Even though most residential fires start in the kitchen, the smoke alarm should ideally be installed in the room closest to the kitchen to provide the earliest possible warning.
Reports of problems are taken very seriously
Anna is relatively new as a building manager and has been on the job for just over half a year. Despite her short time on the job, she has already replaced several smoke detectors.
“Replacing smoke detectors and their batteries is a recurring task that takes place at regular intervals, depending on when they were installed. Sometimes we also receive reports that a smoke detector isn’t working properly—and in those cases, we make it a priority. It’s obviously important that the smoke detectors work,” says Anna.
Test your smoke alarm—so you know it works
Anna explains that the smoke alarm emits a short beep about once a minute when it's time to replace the battery. It starts beeping when the battery level drops—at that point, there are about 30 days left until the battery runs out.
“We recommend that you, as a tenant, test your smoke alarm regularly—even if it isn’t beeping—just to be on the safe side. Once a month is a good rule of thumb,” says Anna.
A flashing red LED indicates that the smoke alarm is active and has power. However, this is not a complete test of all functions. To make sure the smoke alarm is working properly—including the audible alarm and the battery—you need to press the test button. This checks all functions, and you’ll hear an audible alarm confirming that it’s working.
If the smoke alarm does not emit a signal, it is not working. In that case, you should report the problem to us at Skövdebostäder—either through " My Pages" or by calling the customer service center at 0500-47 74 00.
Fire blanket and fire extinguisher
The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) recommends that, in addition to smoke detectors, every home have a powder fire extinguisher containing six kilograms of powder and a fire blanket measuring 120 x 180 cm. However, these items are not included in the apartment from the start; as a tenant, you are responsible for providing them.
