Duty yes, penalties no

By Sarah RaparoliLex Kleren Switch to German for original article

Smoke detectors have been mandatory in every household in Luxembourg since January 1, 2023 – but there are still no consequences for not having them. What do the insurance companies have to say about it and why has the ministry chosen not to implement penalties?

December 6, 2022: A fire breaks out in an apartment building in Kayl. Several people are injured, a six-year-old boy does not survive the disaster.

January 29, 2023: Fire in a detached house in Esch-sur- Alzette. The 81-year-old resident dies of her severe injuries.

Several times a month, the CGDIS (Grand Ducal Fire and Rescue Corps) reports fires throughout the country, most of which result in material damage. As can be read in the CGDIS activity report of 2022, 2,295 fires were fought by firefighters in 2021. However, it is those incidents like in December and January that highlight the need for working smoke alarms. Even if it is impossible to say whether two lives could have been saved – or whether the flats were not equipped accordingly anyway – the small devices can turn out to be lifesavers. Especially at night, they can alert residents to a fire. So it is hardly surprising that after a three-year transitional phase, they are now compulsory: Since January 1., every household must install not only one smoke detector, but one in each bedroom and escape route. Anyone who violates the new obligation is threatened with… nothing.

Convincing the population

One searches in vain for sanctions in the text of the law. "When the law was drafted, the decision was made not to provide for sanctions, " reads the beginning of the answer from the responsible Ministry for Home Affairs, "in order to emphasise the importance of prevention and the usefulness of smoke detectors and not to punish people. The ministry writes that the law should convince the population "that they themselves can be their first and own lifesaver". In neighbouring countries, compulsory smoke alarms have led to a reduction of up to a quarter in the number of deaths caused by fires in dwellings. Take France, for example: according to the French Ministry of the Interior and Housing, 400 lives have been saved per year since the introduction of the obligation in 2015, and the number of deaths caused by house fires has fallen from 800 to 600.

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