The two deaths can only focus renewed attention on the issue of domestic smoke alarms. Reports said that the house where yesterday's blaze took place was not fitted with one of the devices. After an extensive publicity campaign over recent years, official statistics say that 92 per cent of homes across Northern Ireland are equipped with smoke alarms. Although this is a high overall proportion, it still suggests that more than 100,000 people are going to sleep each night without the protection of what can only be regarded as an essential piece of safety equipment. When fire breaks out, a matter of minutes can literally mean the difference between life and death.
Smoke detectors are relatively inexpensive items, and can be obtained from a huge range of outlets.
Householders and landlords should be readily able to ensure that alarms are not only fitted but in working order in each and every home. The target must be to achieve a figure of nothing less than 100 per cent use of the devices by the entire population. Any initiative which might help to prevent the appalling sight of two young bodies on their way to the morgue has to be worth trying.