NY State Legislature Passed Bill Requiring Non-Removable Batteries

NY State Legislature Passed Bill Requiring Non-Removable Batteries

Fire Alarm | Peak ConstructionAll Battery-operated Smoke Alarms Must Include Non-Removable, 10-Year Batteries Thanks to Recent Bill Passed by the NY State Legislature

According to NY Senate Bill S2696, “In the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s National Smoke Detector Project, 32% of consumer disable their smoke alarm when they experienced unwanted alarm activation from such sources as cooking, steam, cigarettes, dust or low battery chirps”. Smoke alarms can often seem like a nuisance to homeowners in this fashion, but they are vital to homeowners for those instances when there is a fire. The problem comes when homeowners remove the batteries because of those nuisances instances, and never put the batteries back in to ensure that everyone is alerted to fire. This is a fact of life that the New York Senate and Assembly understand and want to prevent needless fire deaths. Last week, the NY State Legislature passed NY Senate Bill S2696 that will require all battery-operated smoke alarms to include non-removable, 10-year batteries. Governor Cuomo’s signature is all that is left to make this law.

Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) President Robert McConville is happy with this win for fire prevention. “As firefighters, we frequently encounter the horrific effects of fires in homes without working smoke alarms,” McConville said. “This bill makes New York State a safer place and will undoubtedly go a long way toward preventing future home fire deaths. We look forward to working with the Governor in the coming weeks to see this bill become law.”

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) advises to have a smoke alarm in every bedroom of the home, outside each sleeping area, and then on every level of the home, including attics and basements. Test your alarm monthly, replace them every ten years and create a safety plan in case of a fire.

Peak Construction believes this to be a very sound advice considering the hardships some of our clients have endured due to smoke and fire damage. Of course, accidents with fire can and will happen no matter how well we protect ourselves with fire alarms. Peak Construction can help with small kitchen fires that are caught quickly or large home fires that take a little longer to be put out, and anywhere in between. We stand by our clients in all their varied needs.