Australian Standard AS 3786 defines two types of smoke alarm;
- Type A - a smoke alarm that does not contain radioactive materials; and
- Type B - a smoke alarm that contains radioactive materials.
The definition of a "Smoke Alarm is a device containing within one housing all the components, except possibly the power source, necessary for detecting smoke and generating an alarm condition.1
Given the definition of a smoke alarm, we can determine the required (defining) features of a smoke alarm as follows;
- a device containing within one housing;
- a chamber to sense airborne particulates (smoke) as a byproduct of combustion (fire);
- an audible condition indicator;
- a test facility;
- a mains power source (internal or external);
- a standby power source;
- an integrated method to protect the ingress of foreign bodies;
- markings required and set out in the Standard.
These requirements differ significantly from a smoke detector which is a device designed to comply with a different Australian Standard being AS 7240.7:2018 or its predecessor AS1603.2-1997.