On Wed, 21 Oct 2020 15:18:03 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

To add to this I have now read that Insurance companies are
unlikely to
pay out if the proper alarms are not fitted.
Is this just a cop out?

I think the insurance company would have show "beyond reasonable
doubt" that the property would have been significantly less damaged
if smoke alarms had been fitted.

My reckoning is even with fire alarms by the time you wake up /
get out
the house / then phone fire brigade which may take say 10 minutes
to
arrive I would imagine the house could be well alight.
In other words with or without alarms the damage would likely be
extensive.

And it's not just fire damage as in burnt, the whole house will be
smoke damaged and a couple of hundred gallons of water a minute that
a fire hose (not the little hose reel) can deliver isn't exactly good
for things.

Houses do not burn down in ten minutes! Except in films.

Maybe not down as only walls standing but "well alight" certainly and
more than a single pump and its own water supply can cope with.

--
Cheers
Dave.