The low-battery warning from your smoke alarm always seems to happen when youre trying to sleep or at some other unwelcome moment.
Too many people pull out the batteries when that happens, according to retired firefighter Rep. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater.
Hooper, on the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee, is pushing CS/HB 47, legislation that would require long-life lithium batteries in new and replacement smoke alarms in Florida.
Hooper says these new-generation units last at least 10 years.
Its estimated 95 percent of homes have a smoke alarm, but studies show about 20 percent are not working.
Hooper explains that during his firefighting career, he saw many fire-damaged homes with smoke alarms that had dead batteries or none at all.
People take the battery out so it will stop making noise in the middle of the night," he says. "They mean to a put a new one in but they forget and people die every day because their smoke alarm doesnt inform them that you need to get out.
This bill just means theres a new thing on the market thats inexpensively priced. It has a sealed, 10-year battery and it costs just a couple more dollars than the current 9-volt product, and if you buy a new 9-volt battery every year at about $3 or $4 apiece, over 10 years you just spent $40 on batteries plus the cost of the detector.
This is something thats inexpensive," says Hooper. "It saves lives. Its what I care about from my former career and still do today, so to me, this is a really lifesaving bill and I hope I can get it through the entire Legislature.
Hooper estimates the new smoke alarms with 10-year batteries cost about $25 -- a little more than traditional alarms.
Thats the main criticism against the bill. People will have to pay more for the lithium-battery units.
But, he says if you replace the battery in a traditional alarm every year, as recommended, then youll save money in the long run.
Studies show a working smoke alarm reduces the risk of death in a fire by up to 75 percent.
CS/HB 47does not apply to new construction, because it exempts any smoke alarm or fire alarm system that iselectrically wired or connects to a panel. Current residential building codes already require smoke alarms to bewired to commercial power.
It is uncertain how quickly the new-model smoke alarms would be installed, because the bill does not call forany new inspections, and single-family and duplex homes do not typically receive fire inspections. However,public, commercial, and multi-family apartment buildings are regularly inspected, and to the extent thesebuildings do not already meet the new standard, they would have to when replacing existing smoke alarms.
The bill has an indeterminate, but insignificant fiscal impact. See fiscal comments.
Dave Heller is a Tallahassee freelance reporter/videographer. Nancy Smith, nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com, (850) 727-0859, contributed to this story.
