Dear LPG, 

I think that it must have been last summer’s heatwave that did it, but I was thinking about this, that and the other and I read an old article on your pages about checking your electric blankets to make sure they are safe before the winter sets in (►►►)..   It was all that talk of dangerous electric blankets which fired my imagination I suppose, and one thing led to another.   I started to look a few facts up on the internet and I noticed that some articles were referring to fire alarms while others were about smoke alarms and it even got more complicated than that.  There was talk of smoke alarms but when it got down to it I realised that there is more than one sort of smoke involved.

Apparently the difference is the number of oxygen atoms in each molecule and the fact is that carbon dioxide has 2 as opposed to the 1 that is found in a carbon monoxide one.  The double dose of carbon in the former mixture also makes it very liable to ignite if it meets an open flame. But the thing that they have in common is that you can’t smell them although both gases are extremely harmful and poisonous to the system.

Last summer’s heatwave got me thinking about it again.  You would think that you only need any sort of fire alarm in the winter when the heating goes on but the number of reported fires that happened in the height of the summer gave me food for thought. 

I know that they are quite easy to buy but, once you have made your choice, getting the thing on the ceiling, now that the handyman service is no longer, can be yet another challenge for many an older person.  I have no family living near me and even if I did know how to put one on the ceiling I am getting a bit infirm, with the result that I would not be able to get anywhere near the top of a ladder

I did have one and, although I can’t actually remember when it got taken down, I have been meaning to get a replacement for ages.  But worse still are the alarms that are up there but unable to protect because they are either out of battery or no longer in working order.

So, while I am busy doing all the research into the best alarm to buy, can I remind readers about how important it is to have a working one whatever time of year it is…  

PF, Ladywell

PF shares her findings… 

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And LPG shares a little information on the  day’s celebration…

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