posted on Thursday, January 15, 2009 11:24 AM
by
klehan
Massachusetts Now Requires Photoelectric Smoke Alarms in Every Home
A year and a half after our WBZ (CBS) exposed what could be a deadly delay in technology for smoke alarms the Massachusetts is now taking action.
The state is changing the fire code to better protect you and your family. Officials say the decision is final and it's a decision that could save lives.
A unanimous vote of the State Fire Board to require photoelectric smoke alarms in every Massachusetts home comes after the WBZ I-Team showed how the most common type of detectors, ionization detectors don't offer the best protection in smoldering fires which are some of the deadliest blazes across the country.
As the I-Team's Kathy Curran reported, photoelectric smoke alarms are more sensitive to smoldering, smoky fires. An estimated 90 percent of American households, however, are equipped with ionization smoke alarms, which are better at detecting flames.
Resource: Which Type of Smoke Detector Do I Have?
"Ionization goes off too late in smoldering fires and those fires occur while sleeping. The second reason is excess nuisance alarms which is the No. 1 reason people disable them," said Boston fire Dep. Chief Jay Fleming.
In 2007, the I-Team put both types of smoke alarms to the test. In a smoky fire the photoelectric detector sounded the warning first. Then almost 17 minutes into the fire the ionization alarm finally went off.
"The smoke was too thick," Fleming pointed out. "It was too late to get out of the house."
Fleming has been researching photoelectric technology and battling for change for almost two decades.
"I think if we were able to get the entire country to adopt this regulation we could save about 1,000 lives a year," he said. "I also think this is responsible for the lives lost in Lexington and Milton over the past months."
"Our regulation has followed the science, and I believe we came up with the most comprehensive regulation that we could," said State Fire Marshal Steve Coan.
The old regulation only required the more common ionization detectors, which work well in flaming fires. Now people will have to have a photoelectric and ionization detector or a combination unit in new and older homes.
Smoke alarms should also be replaced every ten years.