Some people living in council homes in North Lanarkshire are putting lives at risk by failing to get their smoke alarms checked, the council has warned.

North Lanarkshire Council installs free smoke alarms to all council homes to help keep people safe and carry out an annual check to make sure people’s alarms are working properly.

However the council’s property manager John Apperson explained that some people aren’t taking advantage of this service.

He said: “Unfortunately, a number of residents fail to allow access engineers access to carry out the quick test endangering lives.

“It can take as little as 15 minutes for the electrician to check that a valuable life saving piece of equipment is working or even replaced it is found to be faulty. This can provide peace of mind to you and your family and even your neighbours.”

The council works in partnership with heating specialists Saltire Facilities Management to provide the completely free testing service for council tenants.

Joe Meechan, Saltire’s electrical engineering manager, added: “As someone with a young family, I find it difficult to understand why some people won’t allow someone to enter their homes to check such a vital piece of safety equipment. It takes a matter of minutes and could save lives.”

@nlcpeople

www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk