Taipei City Fire Department

In order to promote safety of the Taipei City residents, the Taipei City Fire Department has budgeted 8 million (TWD) in 2018 to subsidize residents setting up smoke alarm. Residents living on the 5^th floor or lower may collect one government subsidized smoke alarm from the local village office or fire station. In addition to the subsidized smoke alarm, residents should base on their housing conditions to purchase and install additional smoke alarm. It is recommended to have smoke alarm installed in each bedroom, kitchen, and staircase to maximize safety in case of a fire emergency. To facilitate convenience for residents to buy smoke alarms, the Fire Department is committed to expand the available ways to make a purchase. Smoke alarms can be purchased from major shopping centers throughout the city, (such as Costco, PX Mart, and Test Rite Retail), or through online shopping and fire equipment stores.
 
According to statistics for the past 5 years, 52% of the fire incidents occurred in residential housing, and of which, 70% of the fire related deaths resulted due to late notice of fire and therefore victims were unable to escape in time. Having a sufficient number of properly located smoke alarms would provide sound alert at the early stage of a fire incident and is essential to maximize the available time to escape and increase the rate of successful evacuation. Up until January 2018, there have been 120 reported cases of successful evacuation credited to smoke alarm. Add-on housing units on top of the residential building are not part of this subsidy plan. Add-on housings are considered illegal and unsafe due to their combustible nature and the difficulties involved during evacuations. In the past 3 years, there have been 59 add-on housing related fire incidents in Taipei City with a total of 5 deaths and 4 injured.