By HOI ABC
NORMAL – State and local fire safety experts hope a new smoke detector design along with a new law will help prevent residential fires.
Normal Fire Department along with State Fire Marshals, Illinois Fire Safety Alliance (IFSA) and Illinois State University are encouraging residents to trade in their removable battery smoke alarms with a 10-year sealed battery smoke and fire detector.
“People take the batteries out to use them for other devices and forget to put them back in,” Margaret Vaughn of IFSA said.
“When a fire occurs, its the smoke inhalation that’s killing the people, not so much the burns,” she added.
In 2020, Illinois fire officials reported 107 residential fire deaths statewide and nearly 70% of those homes did not have a working smoke detector.
To solve this problem, the state passed a law in 2017 requiring homes to make the switch to the 10-year battery alarms by the end of 2022.
Vaughn said the new law reflects the technology change.
Vaughn said residential smoke detectors are not a new requirement. She said the Illinois Smoke Detector Act has required homes to have smoke and fire alarms since 1988 and those homes use hardwired smoke alarms.
She said the new law applies mostly to those with homes built before 1988.
“If it was built prior to 1988 and the alarms are not hardwired and you still have a smoke detector with removable batteries, then you’re one of the folks that have to comply,” Vaughn said.
IFSA executive director Philip Zaleski said the new fire alarms does cost more than the older alarms, ranging from $15 to $20.
However, he said residents will save money on battery replacements because the battery in the new alarm lasts 10 years and has improved functionality, like a hush button feature.
“We see a lot of smoke alarms being removed from the wall or ceiling, near the kitchen area when people are cooking,” Zaleski said.
“The alarms go off and people take them off the walls or ceilings, but they forget to put them back up,” he added. “With these new smoke alarms, you simply press the hush button function, it will silence the alarm for 15 minutes, and then it will reactivate itself after that.”
In honor of campus fire safety month, the organizations are encouraging college students, mainly those living off campus, to check their smoke detectors and stay up to date on fire escape plans.
“Our prevention departments works very hard to try to educate everybody living in our community, whether that be on ISU property or student apartments or Greek living,” Normal Fire Chief Mick Humer said.
Residents looking to purchase the 10 year sealed battery smoke alarm can find them at local home improvement stores like Menards or online on Amazon.
