Cooker or Stove fires cause approximately 60% of all reported household fires throughout the world. This is not a new phenomena. Cooker fires are caused by the occupant leaving the cooker on unattended.
From the mid 1960’s Smoke Alarms have started to be used to detect this and other fires. The installation of Smoke Alarms and Fire Alarms Systems is now mandatory in many situations, as is the requirement to contain the Fumes and Fire by use of Fire Doors etc.
These solutions have reached their limit of effectiveness. Now technology is moving from giving a warning and containing a fire, to taking direct intervention and stopping the fire.
Various countries world wide are seeking to bring in new standards for any device that is designed to stop cooker/stove top fires. This is to ensure that the devise actually works. It not the function of any standard to recommend a product or method.
Norway has a building code standard from 1 July 2011 shut-off devices are required in new electric stove installations (Norwegian standard NEK 400:2010 Electrical low voltage installations. Part 400-8-823 residential buildings).
Kirsi Rajaniemi, EU Fire Safety Network, Finland, in his letter to Commission on developing an EU Safety Standards, expressed his concern over the lack off a standard for such devises.
Great Britain creating a new British Standard BS EN 50615, “Tests on devices for fire prevention and suppression for hobs (cooktop) fires”. No more details available at the present time.
The EU has a Draft proposal for a new EU standard CLC/TC 61(SEC)1949 Draft prEN 50XXX “Tests on devices for fire detection and suppression for hobs (cooktops)” Chaired by Fabio Gargantini. We are committee members and part designers of this new standard. It has been sent to each European country for comment.
The London Fire Brigade, Community Safety Research & Policy Team, have the following observations regarding this standard:
“We believe fires on or around cooktops present such a significant hazard that the occupier should be alerted, the power supply automatically isolated and that the occupier should leave the premises
We feel that the new EU standard should focus only on the detection, interrupting power supply and raising the alarm.
The device must be able to switch off the appliance before ignition. It is extremely common that before ignition takes place, vast quantities of smoke are produced and therefore any device that interrupts the power supply should operate sooner than at the ignition stage.” This is exactly what the TripActivator does.
The London Fire Brigade have commented Although We believe fires on or around cooktops present such a significant hazard that the occupier should be alerted, the power supply automatically isolated and that the occupier should leave the premises
We feel that the new EU standard should focus only on the detection, interrupting power supply and raising the alarm.
The device must be able to switch off the appliance before ignition. It is extremely common that before ignition takes place, vast quantities of smoke are produced and therefore any device that interrupts the power supply should operate sooner than at the ignition stage
