THE ALARMING TRUTH
How Flawed Smoke Alarm Standards have Led to
Tens of Thousands of Needless Injuries and Deaths
Part 2
Chapters 9 - 17 | 2007 - 2014
Chapter
Date
Content
9
2007
Feb
'. . . A Criminal Act of Negligence?'
WFSF report warning of life-safety and litigation concerns with ionization smoke alarms.
10
2008
July
Safety Council's 'Renewed Calls for Banning Ionization Alarms'
[NZSC: 4 of 5] New Zealand Safety Council's official position: Ban ionization alarms.
11
2009
Oct
Vermont - Mandate Photoelectric-Only Legislation
Despite desperate attempts to block it by industry and UL, Vermont passes landmark legislation.
12
2009
Jan
'Is the N.Z. Fire Service Responsible for Fire Deaths?'
The New Zealand Fire Services' role in multiple house fire deaths.
13
2010
March
Consumer Research - All Ionization Smoke Alarms Fail . . . Again
[CNZ: 2 of 4] All ionization alarms fail Consumer N.Z.'s second scientific study.
'New Zealand Fire Service Duty of Care Concerns'
WFSF exposes New Zealand Fire Services' failure to warn about ionization alarms.
Aug 4
14
2010
15
2010
May
Albany, CA - Mandates Photoelectric-Only Legislation
WFSF exposes New Zealand Fire Services' failure to warn about ionization alarms.
16
2011
June
U.S. Fire Chief Marc McGinn's 'DEADLY Smoke Alarms Tour'
Chief McGinn travels to Australia and New Zealand warning about ionization alarms
17
2014
June
Beasley Allen's Landmark U.S. Ionization Smoke Alarm Law Suit
Australian Government (CSIRO) scientific data from Australian Standards testing deposed.
World Fire Safety Foundation Report:
'Recommending, Selling or Installing
Ionization Smoke Alarms, a Criminal Act of Negligence?'
Warning about life-safety and litigation concerns with ionization smoke alarms.
"I mean, you buy a smoke alarm, you expect it to go off."
Corinne Ambler, Senior Reporter, TVNZ | The C.A.N. Report | Feb 2007, page 9, para 6
"In the smoldering fire tests the photoelectric alarms provided sufficient early warning. However the
ionization alarms failed the same smoldering fire tests resulting in the following dialog between Corinne
Ambler of TVNZ and Bill Whitley of the N.Z. Consumer's Institute, that was aired on prime time TV:"
Corinne Ambler: "That's pretty shocking though isn't it?"
Bill Whitley: "It is - it's a big worry."
Corinne Ambler: "I mean, you buy a smoke alarm, you expect it to go off."
Bill Whitley: "Precisely - and it may not."
The C.A.N. Report
The WFSF's C.A.N. Report explains life-threatening safety, and litigation concerns with ionization alarms.
10 hard-copies of the report were distributed to senior New Zealand Fire Service management
(see recipients list on page 16)
The report is a must-read for all fire fighters, fire officials, media and ionization smoke alarm attorneys.
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2008 | July
[NZSC: 4 of 5]
New Zealand Safety Council Report & Radio Interview:
'Renewed Calls for Banning Ionization Alarms'
N.Z. Safety Council's official position: Ban ionization alarms.
In Memory of Freda Birch
"The New Zealand Safety Council's position is that ionization smoke alarms be banned. . ."
David Calvert, CEO, NZSC | 'NZSC Smoke Alarm Report' | July 2008 | Page 1, Para 1
"The New Zealand Safety Council is critical of the Leadership of the New Zealand Fire Service..
in failing to properly promote photoelectric alarms in accordance with AFAC's official position."
David Calvert, CEO, NZSC | 'NZSC Smoke Alarm Report' | July 2008 | Page 6, Para 5
David Calvert
Electrical Engineer, Registered
Safety Professional, Former CEO
& Fellow N.Z. Safety Council
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2008 | August
‘Renewed Calls for Banning Ionization Smoke Alarms’
Interview: Radio New Zealand National
Consumer N.Z. | N.Z. Fire Service | N.Z. Safety Council | Radio N.Z.
0:15 "The New Zealand Safety Council . . . ‘Smoke Alarm Report’ says Freda’s unit had three ionization smoke alarms
fitted by the Fire Service and more of the same have been put into her neighbors homes following her death."
Tim Graham, Presenter, Radio National New Zealand | 9 August 2008
1:03 "The ordinary firefighter has been kept in the dark because their senior management hasn't told them."
David Calvert, Founder, CEO, New Zealand Safety Council | 9 August 2008
2:12 "...as long as they have working smoke alarms they’ve done what they can to protect themselves and their families."
Scott Sargentina, Corporate Communications Manager, New Zealand Fire Service | 9 August 2008
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49MB
'Safety Council Calls
for Improved Alarms'
"Nobody should die in such circumstances and, with..
properly fitted photoelectric smoke alarms, they would not."
David Calvert, N.Z. Safety Council | PressReader.com | 9 August 2008
"...they (ionization alarms) will still provide a good early-warning system."
New Zealand Fire Service | PressReader.com | 9 August 2008
World Fire Safety Foundation Comments:
Feb 2006: TVNZ 'Close Up' program airs nationally with WFSF's warning about ionization alarms.
Early 2006: All ionization alarms failed smoldering fire tests commissioned by Consumer New Zealand .
27 May 2006: 'Saving Face or Saving Lives?' letter warning about ionization alarms sent to N.Z. Fire Service.
1 June 2006: AFAC's official position stated: - Ionization alarms may not operate in time for occupants to escape, and
- "That all residential accommodation be fitted with photoelectric alarms."
1 June 2008: Freda Birch dies in home fitted with ionization alarms which were installed by the NZFS.
June 2008: NZSC CEO David Calvert warns ionization alarms should be banned from sale in New Zealand.
9 Aug 2008: NZFS: - keeps defending ionization alarms in the media claiming they're, "a good early warning system."
- states, "any smoke alarm is better than none."
- reinstalled ionization smoke alarms back into the unit block where Freda Birch died (see page 1)
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Vermont - First U.S. State to
Mandate Photoelectric-Only Legislation
Despite desperate attempts to block it by industry
and UL, Vermont passes landmark legislation.
World Fire Safety Foundation Report:
'Is the New Zealand Fire Service
Responsible for Fire Deaths?'
The NZFS's role in multiple house fire deaths.
"Questions are being asked about the New Zealand Fire Service’s role in
the deaths of Lynette Chapman, who died in a home fire in January 2009,
and Freda Birch, who died due to a fire in her pensioner flat in June 2008."
Karl Westwell, WFSF | 'Is the NZFS Responsible For Fire Deaths?' | Feb 09 - Page 1, Para 1
"Failing to warn us of the known limitations of the ionization smoke alarm is not a ‘neutral
act’; it is an act that denies people their right to make an informed decision, it is an act that
prevents people from doing what is necessary to protect their homes and their families."
Karl Westwell, WFSF | 'Is the NZFS Responsible For Fire Deaths?' | Feb 09 - Page 8, Para 2
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World Fire Safety Foundation Comments:
"Writing an article that confronts the fire service head on for what some might call its complacency,
and others its negligence, is not something that has not been done without a great deal of trepidation."
Karl Westwell, Co-Founder, WFSF | 'Is the NZFS Responsible For Fire Deaths?' | Page 9, Para 2 | February 2009
[CNZ: 2 of 4]
Consumer Research - All Ionization Smoke Alarms Fail . . . Again
All ionization alarms fail in Consumer New Zealand's second smoke alarm report.
"The ionization models were slightly better on average at detecting
flaming fires, but were hopeless for smoldering fires. Many of them
didn't sound at all . . . That failing is potentially fatal." (emphasis added)
Consumer New Zealand | March 2010
Consumer N.Z.'s Scientific Smoke Alarm Research Test Results
Research - Conducted by the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ)
Funded by N.Z. Government's Accident Compensation Commission (ACC)
MORE > > >
Consumer N.Z.'s Smoke Alarm Scientific Research
2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018
Chapter 14
2010 | August
World Fire Safety Foundation Report:
'New Zealand Fire Service Duty of Care Concerns'
World Fire Safety Foundation exposes New Zealand
Fire Service's failure to warn about ionization alarms.
"I note with disappointment that the NZFS is STILL failing to
consistently promote photoelectric smoke alarms in the media."
Adrian Butler, Chairman, WFSF letter to NZFS | 4 Aug 10 | page 1, para 5
"...should those responsible for the failure to warn the public and
NZFS firefighters be held liable in the event of injuries or deaths..."
Adrian Butler, Chairman, WFSF letter to NZFS | 4 Aug 10 | page 2, para 3
"This information is being provided to you in good faith in the hope
that the New Zealand Fire Service begins to adequately warn the
public about the life-threatening danger of ionization smoke alarms..."
Adrian Butler, Chairman, WFSF letter to NZFS | 4 Aug 10 | page 3, para 3
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[NZSC: 5 of 5]
Legislation - Albany, California, U.S.A.:
Ionization Smoke Alarms Are DEADLY
First U.S. City Legislates Photoelectric-Only Alarms
San Francisco Chronicle report used to spread photoelectric-only message globally
"I call for the immediate removal of the fraudulent, deadly, ionization so-called smoke alarm..
from all stores and homes in America before more people are needlessly maimed and killed."
Chief McGinn's closing statement | First Reading, Albany's Smoke Alarm Ordinance | Albany, CA, USA | 6 July 2010
On 15 August 2010 the story about Albany California's legislation to eliminate ionization
smoke alarms was featured on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.
San Francisco Chronicle Report | 'Raising Alarm for Fire Safety'
"Albany Fire Chief Marc McGinn says most smoke alarms in
American homes are nearly useless and put residents in danger."
"Switching fire alarms could save about 1,500 lives a year. . ."
San Francisco Chronicle | 'Raising Alarm For Fire Safety' | CA, USA | 15 Aug 10
San Francisco Chronicle
Ken Fagan's Radio Interview
"The fire chief in Albany says most homes in the
Bay area and the rest of the country don't have
the right kind of smoke alarms and it's costing lives."
Kevin Fagan
S.F. Chronicle Reporter
'California Makes A Stand for
Photoelectric Smoke Alarms'
WFSF report with S.F. Chronicle's landmark stories about Albany & Palo Alto | Nov 2010
IONIZATION Smoke Alarms Are DEADLY
The Alarming Truth
by Chief Marc McGinn | August 2010
In August 2010, after Albany's photoelectric-only
legislation passed unanimously into law,
Chief McGinn wrote a report exposing flawed
smoke alarm standards and industry attempts
to block Albany's landmark legislation.
His 2010 report was updated by the WFSF
in 2020 where concerns about needless
deaths and injuries have been vindicated.
Read McGinns 2010 Report
& the WFSF's 2020 Update
< < < H E R E > > >
U.S. Fire Chief Marc McGinn's
'DEADLY Smoke Alarms Tour'
Chief McGinn's tour of Australia and New Zealand
Chief McGinn's Australian and New Zealand Tour | May 2011
Australia's Flawed Smoke Alarm Standard
Putting Australian & New Zealand Lives at Risk
Chief McGinn warning ionization smoke alarms are unable to pass
smoke alarm standard covering New Zealand and Australian homes
New Zealand Safety Council's Interview with Chief McGinn
Auckland New Zealand | 16 May 2011
Part 1 | 9 minutes - 48 seconds
Part 2 | 9 minutes - 58 seconds
Chief McGinn with N.Z. Safety Council
CEO and Founder David Calvert
Auckland, New Zealand | 16 May 2011
Chief McGinn Meets
David Calvert, NZSC CEO
World Fire Safety Foundation Comments
(Updated 27 June 2020)
'Replace YOUR Deadly Smoke Detectors Now!'
The Chronicle's front page report was the first time a major U.S. publication had
quoted a senior fire official warning that ionization smoke alarms are "deadly".
The Chief's message was explicit, "We absolutely have to get rid of them."
Claims of Flawed Standards Vindicated
This 'Alarming Truth' chronology contains media reports spanning several decades where campaigners have warned:
a) lives are at risk because ionization smoke alarms are unsafe, and,
b) most global smoke alarm standards are flawed as they are based on testing
developed by U.L. which is alleged to be "negligent or wanton."
The new, corrected U.S. smoke alarm standard comes into effect in June 2021. Under the new standard ionization technology will be eliminated from all future U.S. residential smoke alarm sales as they will not be able to pass U.L.'s new, legitimate, smoldering fire tests. Tragically tens of millions of ionization alarms will remain in homes around the world due to a deadly compromise. . .
The Deadly Compromise - Advising Not Warning
Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and legal precedence proving ionization alarms are "deadly", for legal and political reasons, most authorities refuse to warn about the life-threatening danger with ionization alarms.
A growing number of authorities now advise "photoelectric alarms are better".
However, the failure to warn about ionization alarms is a deadly compromise
which each year results in thousands of needless deaths and injuries globally.
Chief McGinn's warning and the WFSF's website was
painted on several Albany Fire Department apparatuses
Assembly Resolution
Californian Legislature
Upon his retirement in April 2011, the Californian Government awarded Albany Fire Chief Marc McGinn with an 'Assembly Resolution.'
The Resolution states:
WHEREAS, ...Chief Marc McGinn worked tirelessly over the course of his career to outlaw the use of ionization smoke detectors, which are flame detectors and not smoke detectors (emphasis added)
Chapter 17
2014 | June 14
U.S. Ionization Smoke Alarm Litigation:
Beasley Allen Law Firm Wins Landmark Ionization
Law Suit Using Australian Government (CSIRO) Test Data
Australian Government (CSIRO) scientific data from Australian Standards testing deposed.
'The Law And You'
Ionization Smoke Alarm
Whistle Blower Interviews
with Labarron Boone Esq., Partner & Shareholder
Beasley Allen Law Firm | Montgomery, Alabama U.S.A.
Beasley Allen's Landmark Law Suit
A law suit against one of the world's largest ionization smoke alarm manufacturers was set to go to trial in Montgomery, Alabama in April 2014.
Three children had died in a home fitted with working ionization smoke alarms. U.S. and Australian smoke alarm experts were scheduled to testify. However, the case was settled out of court with a Protection Order on all documentation and a Confidentiality Order on the settlement after the smome alarm manufacturer was deposed, i.e. forced to reveal Australian government (CSIRO) test data which proves ionization smoke alarms are unsafe.
U.S. and Australian Smoke Alarm Experts Discussing Alabama's
2014 'Fire Epidemic' with Alabama State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk
Alabama SFM Ed Paulk (2nd from left) with Dean Dennis (OH, USA, left);
Adrian Butler (QLD, Australia - 2nd from right) and David Isaac (NSW, Australia, right)
'Australian Litigation Strategy'
The smoke alarm manufacturer settled after it was deposed by the court, i.e. they were forced to provide scientific test data showing the level of visible smoke their ionization alarms activated at under Australian Standards testing conducted by the Australian Government's scientific agency, the CSIRO.
This vindicated the 'Australian Litigation Strategy', i.e. requesting test data held by manufacturers and the CSIRO in the increasing number of law suits where deaths and injury occur when ionization smoke alarms fail to sound a timely warning.
Chapters 18 - 25 > > >
"The world is a dangerous
place to live; not because
of the people who are evil,
but because of the people
who do nothing about it."
Albert Einstein
"Ignorance, allied with..
power, is the most.. ferocious enemy..
justice can have."
James A Baldwin
"The only thing..
necessary for the.. triumph of evil is that..
good men do nothing."
Edmund Burke