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A previous law, passed in 2017, changed the requirements for
what smoke detectors could be installed in homes and buildings.
A smoke detector must be hard-wired to a home and have a
tamper-proof battery with a 10-year lifespan.
The bill has been put forward once before, but was left to sit
in the Senate after passing the House, according to Margaret
Vaughn, government affairs coordinator for the Illinois
Firefighters Association.
Advocates said the delay in passing the bill has already cost
lives.
“There's been 288 residential fire deaths in Illinois since
2023, since they should have stopped the sale,” Vaughn said. “If
those people had a fire inspection done, they wouldn't be a
violation of state law.”
Fire Marshal of the City of Champaign, Jeremy Mitchell, said the
having effective smoke detectors is a major concern, especially
in rural areas with fire departments that have longer response
times.
“Something that we want people to understand is that people tend
not to die by being burned in fires. People die by asphyxiation
because all of our modern furnishings made out of synthetic
materials have tremendously toxic smoke,” Mitchell said.
House sponsor of the bill Rep. Joyce Mason, D-Grayslake, said
she has worked to loop retailers in on the bill.
“I have had discussions with the Retail Merchants Association.
They are not opposed to this bill. They are neutral on the bill
and they understand the reason why we're doing it,” Mason said.
Asked about potential use cases outside for the targeted devices
– such as barns, sheds or campers – Vaughn said the ban would
benefit non-mandated uses as well.
“Even if you bought them for a shed or a doghouse – to keep them
updated you would have to change the battery every six months.
So you're actually spending more money in the long run to keep
the thing working,” Vaughn said.
The bill has been taken up by Sen. Chris Belt, D-East St. Louis,
who was unable to join other advocates for their remarks
Thursday.
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