10-year Residential Smoke Alarms Would Become Norm If Cuomo Signs Bill

Forget disabling your home smoke detector just because you forgot to change the battery or you burn dinner.

Going forward, stores in New York would only be allowed to sell smoke detectors that come with a 10-year battery that you can’t remove.

That’s if Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs legislation meant to increase safety in homes, according to the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York. The Senate passed the legislation today; the Assembly had approved it previously.

Nationwide, 3 out of every 5 home fire deaths happen in a home without working smoke alarms, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Advocates believe this new law, if signed by Cuomo, could change that.

The bill would not take effect until 2017. Stores would be allowed to sell old stock not compliant with the new rule, so long as the merchandise was ordered before 2017.

No homeowners would get in trouble for having other kinds of smoke detectors, even after 2017.

Smoke detectors with 10-year lithium batteries are available now. A three-pack at Home Depot costs $49.97, according to the store’s website.