Adrian Butler with Sir Geoffrey Cresser (advisor to the foundation) on 31 August 2016 at 11:30pm, outside Parliament House just after Queensland photoelectric legislation enacted
“Millions have been sold around the world. Do the maths. The manufacturers fear litigation if the real situation is known.” In 2000, Adrian saw the awardwinning Canadian documentary Silent Alarms, but it was soon silenced by the manufacturers and has not been screened since. “It showed clearly that, despite ionisation alarms being widely installed in homes, deaths—particularly child deaths—have not decreased. We were shocked by this. “It is a story that needs to be told, so we decided to make our own documentary, Stop the Children Burning. It can’t be silenced.” Adrian immediately ceased selling alarms and formed the non-trading not-for-profit organisation, World Fire Safety Foundation, with Karl Westwell. They began a tireless campaign that, to date, has run for 16 years, conducting their own tests which are well documented on the Foundation’s website. Their aim is to not only educate the public, but have legislation changed to ensure the correct smoke alarms are installed in every home. But what to many people seems like a no-brainer has been met with tremendous opposition from authorities. “People don’t like change,” explains Adrian.“They have been told that the cheaper option is safe, so they go along with that. People also don’t like to admit they’re wrong.” In 2006, Adrian and Karl almost closed down the campaign.“We had lost our homes, and were totally disillusioned.” But they were reawakened when they received an email
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SASSY BEANS & BITES small lunch selections from Russell Ash, a US fireman, reporting that a fire in Vermont took the lives of three girls in a house that was fully equipped with alarms. None sounded. Adrian was brought to America as an expert witness at the coronial inquest. Adrian has long been a campaigner. He is driven, very driven, by a sense of public awareness and social conscience. This is his third campaign. His first began when, in his early twenties, he took on the insurance industry for what he saw was bad advice to clients. Like the smoke alarm business, he was selling a product he discovered was deceptive. His second campaign, again brought about by personal circumstances, was the banking industry’s mortgage branch. David against the Goliaths. He is a man who punches above his weight. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that, as a teenager, he represented New Zealand in international weightlifting. After battling against the status quo for so long, there is hope. On September 1 this year, legislation was passed in Queensland that, as from January 1, 2017, all new houses must have a photoelectric alarm installed in every bedroom of every home. “Unfortunately, it won’t apply to all rental properties until 2021, and in every home until 2027,” laments Adrian. “Think of the number of lives that will be lost during that time!” When Adrian began the fight, he thought it would all be over in two years; people would see they were being conned. I asked him how long he would be able to keep up the good fight as he grows older and the strain of a lifetime of struggle takes its toll. “As long as it takes”, he replied. For further information: www.SmokeAlarmWarning.org A young Adrian with the New Zealand Fire Service 1978
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