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Ionization Smoke
A l a r m s a r e D E A D LY
Australasian Tour II - 15 ~ 26 May, 2012
Online Version - Updated: 07 Feb, 2013

Contents:
Cover Page (this page) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Reprint: World Fire Safety Foundation Report, Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY . . . . 2~4
Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Litigation Concerns | Averyanas Law, New York, USA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The Alarming Truth - 60 Minutes Ionization Smoke Alarm Expos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

H e l p S a v e L i v e s:

The World Fire Safety

Foundation thanks the
Volunteer Fire Fighters
Association for permission
to reproduce this report.

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This report is part of the series of Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY publications (see page 5)
VFFA Magazine - Published: 24 May, 2012 | File: VFFAWinter12OnlineVersion07Feb13.pdf
Updated: 03 June, 2015 | Check for the latest version at: www.Scribd.com/doc/92003952

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Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY

Australasian Tour II - 15 ~ 26 May, 2012
W A R N I N G ! There are two completely different types of smoke
alarms, Ionization and Photoelectric (both can be battery or hard-wired).
The Ionization type are in most homes.
The Photoelectric type are in most commercial buildings
You may think, Mine are OK - they go off when I cook - but dont be fooled,
there is an almost 100% chance your alarms are the DEADLY ionization type.

Captain Russell Ashe

Barre City, Verm ont, U SA
w i t h h i s b o o k , 'The Fire
That Changed Everything '

Captain Russell Ashe

Medal of Honour
Fire Fighter and Author

The Fire That Changed

E ve r yt h i n g

Australasian DEADLY
Smoke Alarm Tour II

Barre City, Vermont, USA:

17 December, 2005

t was a freezing cold morning

in Vermont, USA - just one
week before Christmas. Snow
covered the ground and smoke
rose from chimneys heating the
homes of Barre City's 9,600
residents. The fire call came in at
5:59am.
The fire engine roared into life as
the firefighters leapt on board.
Shortly after leaving the fire station
the radio crackled with the
message that sets every fire
fighters heart pounding: children
were trapped in a burning home.
When the fire engine turned the
corner into Eastern Avenue they
saw Kimberley Stoltz-Foster's
house. Smoke was billowing out of
the windows and flames were
leaping twenty feet into the air.
Neighbours woken by the sirens
poured into the street and were
screaming that there were kids
inside. In the emotion of the
moment the fire fighters decided to
do what they must never do, enter
the house without charged hoses.
They knew they had to get those
kids out.
All four children were rescued
from the burning home. Despite
desperate attempts to resuscitate,
all four children died.
The house was fitted with three
hard-wired, ionization smoke
alarms. They all failed to operate.

15 ~ 26 May, 2012
Captain Russell Ashe (above)
was awarded a Medal of
Honour after ' The Fire That
Changed Everything' in Barre
City, Vermont, USA in 2005.
This tragic fire exposed the
deadly flaws in the ionization
type of smoke alarms in
hundreds of millions of homes
around the world.
After Ashe performed an
'A q u a r i u m ' a n d f u l l - s c a l e
smoke alarm tests, Vermont
became America's first State
to pass photoelectric smoke
alarm legislation (see below).
So why have fire fighters and
the public not been warned
that the ionization type of
smoke alarm is now scientifically
proven to be defective?
Ashe is touring Australia
and New Zealand in May,
2012 with the World Fire
Safety Foundation to warn
about ionization smoke alarms
and to promote the safe
photoelectric alternatives.
The tour schedule is here:
www.SmokeAlarmRecall.org/tour2

Russell Ashe (4th from right)

at the signing of USAs first
photoelectric-only legislation
Page 32 !

Kimberley and her four

children died in 'The Fire
That Changed Everything

After the fire was out, Captain

Russell Ashe dutifully tested the
three ionization alarms - chillingly
they all activated.
So why had they all failed despite
the thick, toxic smoke?
This report gives a brief overview
of the story behind the 40 year
ionization smoke alarm fraud . . .

Photoelectrics Introduced
c. 1960 - USA

Photoelectric smoke alarms were

protecting some U.S. homes and
businesses.

Ionization Alarms Introduced

c. 1965 - USA

Ionization alarms were given the

'seal of approval' by Underwriters
Laboratories (UL) after tests
conducted inside ULs laboratories.
Manufacturers claimed the new
alarms would activate before there
was any heat or smoke.
Fire
fighters across America were
recruited to promote them.

More information about the first Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY Australasian

Tour (May, 2011), the December 2011 report, this report and the film, all by the same
name, is available (with Internet links) at: www.theWFSF.org/vffa

VFFAWinter12OnlineVersion_Updated03June15.pdf !

Winter 2012 the volunteer fire fighter

!

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N.I.S.T. Report Published

1974 ~ 1976 - Indiana, USA

After thousands of people had

been killed or injured in homes
fitted with the new ionization
devices, calls were made for
Government testing. The National
Institute of Standard and
Technologies, 'Indiana Dunes
Tests' report revealed ionization
alarms had only been tested in a
laboratory - not in a real-world
setting inside a house.
T h e ' D u n e s Te s t s ' w e r e
conducted in abandoned homes on
the Indiana Dunes Wildlife
Reserve. The average activation
time for the ionization alarms in the
smouldering stage of the fires was
over one hour. Many ionization
alarms failed to operate at all.

The Report outlined a full-scale

house fire test urging Fire Chiefs to
discover the facts for themselves.
(see Barre City Fire Departments
full-scale tests on next page.)

Are Australian and

US Smoke Alarm
St andards Fla we d ?
We put 50 million smoke
detectors in buildings in
America in a two year period
and our fire loss and death
rate goes up.

Ionization Alarms in Australia

c. 1981 - Berowra, NSW

David Isaac, an electrical

contractor, engineer and member
of the NSW Bush Fire Brigade
(now the NSW Rural Fire Service),
installed two ionization smoke
alarms in his home.
However,
when his home filled with thick
smoke from a smouldering fire the
alarms never sounded. He did not
understand why.

Gordon Vickery, former head of the U.S.

Fire Administration. Fire Engineering
Magazine - Sept, 1980

The public have been misled

into believing that ionization
smoke alarms are safe.
David Isaac, Standards Australia
Committee FP002 from the film,
Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY,
NSW, Australia - August 2006 (more
about Mr Isaac on next page).

I think the ionization alarm

is responsible for as many as
10,000 deaths since 1990.
Chief Jay Fleming, Boston Fire
Department, MA, USA - Dec, 2007

Smoke Detector Fraud Report

1976 - Ohio, USA

Underwriters Laboratories
(UL) is, so to speak, in bed
with the smoke alarm
manufactures.

Fire Protection Engineer and

chairman of the world's first
residential fire detection standard,
Richard Patton, distributed 3,000
'Smoke Detector Fraud Reports' to
US Engineers and Fire Chiefs.

David and Katherine Isaac

Feb, 2010 after her recovery.
(see Davids quote in right column
and his attempt to rectify the flawed
Australian Standard on next page)

I.A.F.C. Publishes Warning

about Ionization & Combo
Ion/Photo Alarms
Sept, 1980 - California, USA

After years of controversy, the

International Association of Fire
Chiefs (IAFC) published their
'Residential Smoke Alarm Report'
u r g i n g fi r e c h i e f s t o o n l y
recommend photoelectric alarms.
They warned ionization alarms,
". . . might be so slow to operate
in a smoldering fire that lives
may be in danger."
The IAFC also warned about
combination ionization/
photoelectric alarms, ...what is to
be gained by adding an
ionization element to a good
photoelectric element? In the
s u b - c o m m i t t e e s o p i n i o n ,
nothing.

Richard Taylor, Senior Partner, Taylor

Martino Attorneys, Mobile AL, USA from
the report, The Defect in Smoke
Alarms - August, 2009

Its about recall: its about

banning the ionization
technology and only having
the photoelectric
technology.

Almost 10 years later, in

Tamworth NSW, Davids daughter
Katherine (7), received burns to
50% of her body in a horrific fire
(not related to smoke alarms).
She suffered many full thickness
(3rd degree) burns and spent six
months hospitalised.
Over the next four and a half
years, Katherine underwent
fourteen reconstructive plastic
surgeries.
David's personal experience of
the horrific suffering that is often
caused by fire is the reason he is a
passionate advocate for all homes
to be fitted with photoelectric
smoke alarms.

the volunteer fire fighter Winter 2012

VFFAWinter12OnlineVersion_Updated03June15.pdf !

!
!

Chief Marc McGinn, California, USA,

Australasian DEADLY Smoke Alarm Tour I,
national Australian TV - June, 2011

...the ionization alarms

have failed* Australian
Standards since 1993
Darren Curtis, Channel 9 News, QLD,
Australia - May, 2011
*Unable to pass the scientific tests
for visible smoke

Defendant UL was
negligent or wanton . . . by
failing to formulate and
implement safety standards
for ionization smoke alarms
that required ionization
smoke alarms to detect slow
smoldering fires in a timely
manner . . .
Hosford vs BRK Brands Inc,
Underwriters Laboratories Inc; et al,
Taylor Martino Attorneys, Mobile, AL,
USA - Dec, 2011

Page 33
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Silent Alarms Documentary

WFSF Smoke Alarm

Disclosure Requests Ignored

Ioni za ti o n sm o k e a la r m s
may not operate in time to
alert occupants early
enough to escape from
smouldering fires.

Jan, 2000 - Toronto, Canada

Canadian TVs (CTV) awardwinning documentary reported on

the landmark Mercer law suit after
US$16.3M was awarded in punitive
damages for, Failing to disclose
the known limitations of the
(ionization) detector to the
consumer.

2007 ~ 2012 - Australia

The WFSF requested numerous

manufacturers to disclose the level
of smoke their ionization smoke
alarms activated under Australias
(flawed) Smoke Alarm Standard.
No manufacturers responded.

Aquarium and Full-Scale

Tests - Vermont, USA
June, 2006 - Barre City, Vermont

WFSF sends specifications of

full-scale testing (which were
extracted verbatim from the IAFCs
1980 report), to Captain Ashe at
Barre City Fire Department.
Tests were aired by Vermont's
number one TV station, WCAX. In
Jan, 2009 Vermont enacted
A m e r i c a s fi r s t S t a t e - w i d e,
photoelectric-only legislation.

World Fire Safety Foundation

Aquarium Test
2000 ~ 2012 - QLD, Australia

After former firefighter Adrian

Butler and Karl Westwell saw
'Silent Alarms', they co-founded the
World Fire Safety Foundation
(WFSF) to warn fire fighters and
the public about the serious
defects with ionization alarms.
The Foundation developed the
'Aquarium Test' to demonstrate to
Fire Brigades how ionization
smoke alarms fail to activate in
thick smoke during the early,
smouldering stage of a fire.
After seeing the Aquarium Test
and research material provided by
the WFSF, the Australasian Fire &
Emergency Services Authorities
Council (AFAC) commissioned the
Victoria University to produce a
report on global smoke alarm
research.

Captain Ashe performing

USAs first 'Aquarium Test'

Christmas 2011 Tragedies

Dec, 2011 - QLD, Aust, CT, USA

During Christmas 2011, two

horrific fires in the USA and
Australia made headlines around
the world.
The Golinski fire in Queensland,
Australia - 3 sisters and their
mother died. The Badger fire in
Connecticut, USA - 3 sisters and
two of their grandparents died.
Gary Siljac, chef and neighbour
of Australian celebrity chef Matt
Golinski, wrote to his smoke alarm
manufacturer. Gary asked them to
disclose the level of smoke the
ionization alarms in his Tewantin
home activated under Australian
Standards scientific testing.
Garys request was ignored.

C.A.N. Report
Feb, 2007 - QLD, Australia

WFSF report, 'Recommending

Selling or Installing Ionization
Smoke Alarms, A Criminal Act of
Negligence?' is published.
The C.A.N. Report warned that
failure to adequately disclose the
known limitations of ionization
smoke alarms may be deemed a
Criminal Act of Negligence.

Fire Brigades Official Position

on Smoke Alarms Released
June, 2006 - Melbourne, Australia

AFAC, the peak representative

body of all Australasian Fire
Brigade's official position states,

Gary Siljac's (Matt Golinskis

neighbour) Smoke Alarm
Disclosure Request Ignored

03 June, 2015: Mr Siljacs request for information continues to be ignored

Is Australias Flawed Smoke Alarm Standard the Key
to Exposing the 40 Year Ionization Smoke Alarm Fraud?
When Mr David Isaac (Standards Australia Committee FP002) appeared on National
TV in October 2004, he concurred with the World Fire Safety Foundations allegations
about the life-threatening defects with ionization smoke alarms. The Foundation
subsequently gave Mr Isaac extensive global research, dating back to the mid 1970s,
substantiating the life-threatening defects with ionization smoke alarm technology.
In 2008, Standards Australia published a draft to correct the existing, flawed Smoke
Alarm Standard. Empirical scientific evidence shows if the draft is adopted into
legislation, ionization alarms would fail the revised Standard. If this were to happen, this
could be a catalyst for a ban and recall of ionization technology from all homes globally.
Despite repeated attempts, the correction to the Standard remains blocked . . .

David Isaac - Standards

Australia Committee
FP002 from the film,
Ionization Smoke Alarms
are DEADLY.
Mr Isaacs statements about
ionization smoke alarms have
not been challenged or refuted.

. . . how many more lives will be needlessly lost while the truth about ionization
smoke alarms continues to remain hidden from the public and our firefighters?
Page 34 !

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Winter 2012 the volunteer fire fighter

!

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Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY Publications

The Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY film, reports and tours are testimony to the fact that the ionization type of smoke
alarm, in millions of homes around the world, has been proven by Australian Government scientific testing to be deadly*.
*see World Fire Safety Foundation quote from first Australian & New Zealand Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY tour, May, 2011

The first Ionization Smoke Alarms are

DEADLY VFFA Report - Dec, 2011

www.TheWFSF.org/vffa

There are two completely

different types of smoke alarms:
The first Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY
Australasian Tour - May, 2011
www.TheWFSF.org/tourstory

The Ionization type are in almost every home

The Photoelectric type are in almost every commercial building

I o n i z at i o n S m o ke
A l a r m s a r e D E A D LY

The highlight of the first

Australasian tour was
the lead story on
Channel 9s, 6 oclock
news (10 May, 2011)
when senior reporter
Darren Curtis made this
stunning revelation...
Lead Story - Channel 9 News, Brisbane

Its time to tell the public the truth! . . .

Ionization smoke alarms may not operate
in time to alert occupants early enough to
escape from smouldering fires.
Australasian Fire & Emergency Service Authorities Councils official
position on smoke alarms, June, 2006

...the ionization alarms

have failed* Australian
Standards since 1993.

AFAC is the peak representative body of all Australian & New Zealand Fire Brigades:

www.theWFSF.org/afac

* Unable to pass Australian Government

The public have been misled
into believing that ionization
smoke alarms are safe.

Darren Curtis

scientific tests for visible smoke

Australias flawed Smoke Alarm Standard:

www.TheWFSF.org/sa

David Isaac, Standards Australia Committee

FP002 Member, NSW, Australia, August, 2006
See the film, Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY:

www.theWFSF.org
the volunteer fire fighter

Summer 2011

page 35

The Film - Dec, 2006 | www.TheWFSF.org

(about Australias flawed smoke alarm standard)
Chief Marc McGinn presenting World Fire Safety
Foundation co-founders, Adrian Butler and Karl
Westwell, with his Californian Government
Assembly Resolution for his work to outlaw
the use of ionization smoke alarms.

C o u l d S t a n d a r d A u s t r a l i a' s formal acknowledgement of

Australia's flawed Smoke Alarm Standard be the catalyst for
banning and recalling ionization smoke alarms from all homes globally?
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Litigation Concerns | Averyanas Law (New York, USA)

Since 1993 manufacturers of ionization smoke alarms tested to Australias Smoke Alarm
Standard have been provided with empirical scientific evidence that their alarms may
not operate in time to alert occupants early enough to escape from smoldering fires.
Adrian Butler, Chairman, Co-Founder, Former Fire Fighter
The World Fire Safety Foundation, NSW, Australia 06 Feb, 2013

The C.A.N. Report

Why failure to disclose the known and life-threatening
limitations of ionization smoke alarms may be
deemed a Criminal Act of Negligence.

www.TheWFSF.org/can

Averyanas Story

Averyanas (pending) Law - New York, USA: - Update Feb, 2013

Averyana Dale, and her God Mother, Rachel Harris-Curione, died in a house fire on the 11th
of March, 2011 in a home fitted with hard wired, Kidde branded, ionization smoke alarms.
Kidde is owned by United Technologies Corporation (UTC) - see the UTC story below.
extract from New York Senate Bill S3299-2013:

Valerie Rivett
Averyanas Aunt, Fire
Safety Campaigner,
Auburn, New York, USA

Averyana Dale most likely lost her life because the ionization smoke
detector that was present in the home she was in did not alert her to the
fire until it was too late. If a photoelectric detector had been in the home,
it is considerably more likely she would have been alerted to the smoke
sooner and would have made it out safely.

www.AveryanasLaw.com

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Ionization Smoke Alarm Expos | October 2014
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The Alarming Truth

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