Why don't residences in Spain (Europe?) have smoke detectors?

I lived in France for 12 years and I never saw a smoke detector or sprinkler system there. I think the difference in death rates (based on your link Western Europe has less than half the death rate of the US) is mostly due to differences in construction materials. In the US nearly all single family homes are built from wood while in Europe most buildings of any kind are made from stone, brick, reinforced concrete, etc.

Beyond that though there seem to have been a lot of deaths in the US in tenement like buildings in cities which usually have brick facades, though I'm not sure what materials were/are used internally. In the US these types of buildings usually had/have external fire escapes, another feature I never saw in France.

I think European apartment buildings have traditionally had fire-safe structurally isolated apartments. This was probably not the case in pre-war US buildings. Modern US apartment buildings often do have that feature. The building I am currently living in was built in the 70's and is reinforced concrete. Apartments have smoke detectors but they only sound inside the apartment. The building also doesn't have external fire escapes and the recommendation is to stay in your apartment if the building fire alarm goes off unless instructed to evacuate by firefighters.

On the other hand Europe has in the more distant past had major issues with fire safety. Much of London burned down in 1666 and ancient Rome is also known to have had some major fires. It seems like Europe had learned some lessons about fire safety by the time the majority of its current buildings were constructed that the US either forgot or chose to ignore.

I am currently living in Spain and another oddity I noticed is that almost all external doors lock automatically when closed, and require the key to open, even from the inside. Always struck me as a bit odd that in an emergency I might be locked inside my own home without an easy egress method. My house (and most others in the area) have bars on all the windows to prevent thieves from entering, but would also prevent me from just jumping out of a window as well.

I generally just leave the keys in the door at night, just in case, but it's still always in the back of my mind how unsafe it is.

Because the EU isn't forcing Spain to do the right thing lol.

Now seriously, in residential buildings there's no obligation, only recommendations, as per the latest "regulations": NTP 215(1988) for smoke detectors, NTP 40 (1983) for fire detectors, and NTP 41 (1983) for fire alarms. [0] Industrial and office buildings are way more tightly regulated, though.

Spain lags in that sense vs. most of Western Europe [1].

"Different building materials and building codes": I'd say that the heavy concrete-brick construction style in most urban housing limits the damage of fire. While anecdotal, I've seen a few fires in Spain, and generally they're mostly a scare and self contained to one or few units.

"Cost": for smoke detectors the cost is very low, yet they're still relatively uncommon. Sprinklers are generally limited to office buildings. Sprinklers are very expensive though, especially for old buildings.

"Business/politics": most of WE is ahead of Spain, so hardly US specific lobbying/awareness.

"Rescue/fire suppression": not different from WE.

Just install some smoke detector yourself for your unit. If you're renting ask the owner to ask in the next "comunidad de vecinos" to pool money to install them in common areas. You may even install them yourself in common areas: if they're concealed enough, nobody would care.

[0] https://saludlaboralydiscapacidad.org/salud-laboral/gestion-...

[1] https://www.modernbuildingalliance.eu/EU-fire-safety-guide

> Business/Politics - Fire safety manufacturers have had more success in the US getting their devices into building codes and legislation

I think this is the most likely answer. We had that recently too and I have 4 smoke detectors in a normal sized apartment. A bit paranoid in my opinion. A carbon monoxide detector is sensible perhaps.

This is a clear case of corruption in my opinion. In my country there are 500 death by year through burning and that includes traffic victims. I would guess a single digit percentile from that would really be cause by a fire in your home.

It might be in general in the US most houses are on a level 2 of "Three little pigs" construction rating, aka made of wood while in Spain most houses and apartments, and in cities most people live in apartment, they're built with bricks which is more fire resistant. Anyway, it might also be that those apartments are decades old and maybe newer constructions do have smoke alarms and sprinklers. I'd say in office buildings they do have smoke alarma and sprinklers by law.

In the US the construction code (IBC International Building Code) was written, right after the Chicago fire, that destroyed the whole city. As such fire prevention was a priority.

Also in Europe construction is with bricks, so a fire in one apartment won't spread as fast to another one giving the residents plenty of time to evacuate.

Been living in France, Spain, Germany and a few other european countries. I never saw a sprinkler in any apartment in any country. In Germany, the smoke detectors are common, though.

I never saw fire escapes (the classic stairs on the outside of buildings one see when watching a movie placed in New York) either in 99% of the buildings in Europe.

In Australia in some states (Victoria and Queensland) it is now mandatory to have hardwired (or 10yr Lithium battery), photoelectric and interconnected smoke alarms in every room and hallway. In Victoria they also need a compliance check every 12 months if tenanted.

Because homes are made of bricks and not wood.