Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:
The Waukegan Fire Department received a donation of 100 new smoke detectors containing a 10-year sealed battery with installation kits which comply with a new state law that requires all dwellings built before 1988, or which do not have hardwired smoke detectors, must have the new detector with a 10-year sealed battery installed by Jan. 1, 2023. Smoke detectors have been required since 1988. There were 91 residential deaths in Illinois last year. Most occurred in homes without functioning smoke detectors.
Supplied by the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance during a press conference Wednesday, the arrival of the smoke detectors initiated an effort in which the city plans to make sure all Waukegan residences are compliant as soon as possible. The city will work with landlords, real estate agents, and the general public to communicate in English and Spanish, the necessity of the smoke detectors and their availability. The fire department will install the new alarms for any resident who needs assistance. A phone call is all that is required. Rental property owners, not their tenants, are responsible for installing smoke detectors. Anyone who needs one will get it, regardless of their ability to pay.
While the new smoke detectors may be more expensive, saving the expense of replacing batteries twice a year for 10 years yields an overall savings which can be between $150 and $250 a year. After 10 years, the new equipment must be replaced.
