Taipei to subsidize fire alarms for poor families

Since impoverished families usually reside in old buildings without proper fire fighting equipment, the department decided to create a budget of NT$ 2 million to help them set up fire alarms at home, explained Hsiung Kuang-hua, head of the department.

In Taipei City, residential fires account for 52 percent of all cases of building fires, and the death toll of residential fires represents 71 percent of all building fire deaths.

Home fire alarms, devices that go off when detecting an unusual high temperature or smoke, warn the residents to exit the hazardous areas immediately. They are priced between NT$200 and NT$1,000 and cost-effective, added Hsiung.

Considering the encouraging results in Japan and the U.S., where installment of home fire alarms has effectively decreased fire casualties, the department is launching many campaigns to call on the public to install home fire alarms.

By providing a subsidy for fire alarm installment for low-income families, it hopes to increase conflagration-protection awareness, emphasized Hsiung.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email