Dec. 05--A City-County Council committee tonight unanimously endorsed a proposal that would toughen Marion County's smoke detector rules but could cost residents and landlords more money.
All residences now must have smoke detectors installed near bedrooms. The bipartisan proposal, heard by the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee, would require tamper-proof devices with non-removable batteries that last at least 10 years. Those now are widely available but often cost more initially than basic smoke detectors.
The goal, council members say, is to save lives by making it more difficult for residents to disable smoke detectors, either by deliberately removing their batteries when they make annoying "chirp" noises or by forgetting to replace the batteries when they go bad.
"Many times, we do find in fires that people have taken the battery out," testified Fire Marshal Fred Pervine of the Indianapolis Fire Department. He predicted that requiring 10-year tamper-proof devices would eliminate most of the problem.
The full council is set to vote on Proposal 364 on Monday. If approved, it would take effect July 1.
As written, the measure would not favor photoelectric smoke detectors -- which fire safety experts say are more effective at detecting smoldering fires -- over the cheaper and more common ionization type. Those are better at detecting flaming fires.
Committee member Christine Scales suggested adding a requirement that residents use detectors with photoelectric sensors. But requiring that more expensive model, Pervine said, would significantly reduce the number of fire detectors that IFD could give out through its fire-safety program.
And he said both types of detectors have merits, making a combination ionization/photoelectric detector the best choice.
Committee Chairwoman Mary Moriarty Adams said Scales' suggestion was worth discussing later but she resisted an amendment. Requiring a 10-year battery life was the most important change to make, she said.
The new rule would not apply to smoke detectors that are wired to a building's electricity supply.
Call Star reporter Jon Murray at (317) 444-2752. Follow him on Twitter: @IndyJonMurray.
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