Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner visits Riverina to remind locals to “Check your BLEEPING smoke alarm”
Published: 13 May 2026 09:25am
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell is visiting the Riverina this week to raise public awareness ahead of the busiest home fire season of all: Winter.
Commissioner Fewtrell and the FRNSW leadership team are visiting fire stations across the region, including in Albury, Wagga Wagga, Temora, Tumut, Holbrook, Gundagai, Goulburn, Tumbarumba and Culcairn, as the cold season approaches.
A recently launched, bold smoke alarm safety initiative, “Check your BLEEPING smoke alarm,” uses blunt and attention-grabbing language to mark 20 years since the installation of these life-saving devices became mandatory in NSW homes.
Smoke alarms are either missing or not working in almost half the homes (45 per cent) to which firefighters are called.
The initiative coincides with fresh FRNSW-commissioned research that suggests 31 per cent of NSW residents have either not checked their smoke alarm in the last year or never checked it at all, and one in four people report that they are not confident about how to test them.
The survey indicates 37 per cent of respondents weren’t aware smoke alarms needed to be replaced every 10 years, and 45 per cent had no idea that alarms require cleaning every six months.
Offering in-person service, firefighters can visit regional homes to conduct fire safety checks, and if required, install new smoke alarms for free. The survey found around one in two people weren’t even aware the service existed.
FRNSW normally receives 600 bookings for home safety visits a month. This winter, it’s hoping to increase that number. Free home visits can be booked online - https://www.fire.nsw.gov.au/visits
Quotes attributed to Commissioner Fewtrell:
“We know that beep can be loud and annoying. But that ‘bleeping’ could be the difference between you and your family waking up to a fire or losing a loved one.
“Almost half the house fires we’re called to have no working smoke alarm. So, if it takes some colourful language to improve that frustrating statistic to keep people safe, then it’s worth it.
“If people hear about this campaign and then take the 30 seconds to test their ‘bleeping’ alarm, then that’s a win.
“We now know that when survey respondents were made aware of our free safety visits, more than half of them said they’d consider booking one. I encourage people to make that booking to help us increase the number of visits.
Quotes attributed to Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib:
“Through the NSW Parliament it became a legal requirement to have smoke alarms 20 years ago, but it’s through the actions of people now that we will make our communities safer.
“Unfortunately, firefighters are still seeing cases where smoke alarms are missing or not working.
“Our firefighters are an integral part of their communities and the in-person safety visits they offer mean that the people who need it most can get help with their smoke alarms.
“A working smoke alarm can save a life. As winter approaches, we can all play our part to keep ourselves, our families and our neighbours safe by checking our smoke alarms.
FRNSW data reveals 44% of the 188 fire fatalities that occurred between 2019 and 2025 happened in winter. Last winter there were 916 residential fires – almost 10 fires a day.
Riverina LGA data regarding 2025 house fires
| Local government area | Winter 2025 residential fires | % No working smoke alarm/none present in fire affected homes |
|---|---|---|
| Albury | 14 | 50% |
| Wagga Wagga | 12 | 58% |
| Cootamundra | 4 | 75% |
| Griffith | 3 | 67% |
| Murray River | 3 | 100% |
| Snowy Valleys | 3 | 0% |
| Leeton | 2 | 50% |
| Junee | 1 | 0% |
**B-roll footage of how to test a smoke alarm is available here: https://vimeo.com/427983325?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci
**Fresh B-roll footage of NSW firefighters loading boxes of smoke alarms into fire trucks, ready to be installed in NSW homes as part of free home safety visits, can be found here: https://vimeo.com/1187527218/0ab6f3523b
**Translated fact sheets and educational materials can be found here: https://www.fire.nsw.gov.au/fire-safety/home-fire-safety/translations
Updated: 13 May 2026 9:38am