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Kidde representative says sealed 10‑year batteries reduce smoke‑alarm failures; committee asks practical questions
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Summary
At an informational hearing, Fawn Berry of Kidde told the committee sealed 10‑year battery smoke alarms reduce failures caused by missing or dead batteries; members asked how to silence or reset such alarms during cooking or tests.
Fawn Berry, representing Kidde, gave an informational presentation to the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness on Feb. 26 and urged making the state’s smoke‑alarm statute technology neutral so that sealed 10‑year batteries (and future technologies) are permitted.
“Nearly three out of five home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarm or no working smoke alarm,” Berry said, highlighting that missing or dead batteries are a leading cause of alarm failure. She told the committee that sealed 10‑year tamper‑resistant lithium batteries are designed to power devices for the full decade of their service life and remove the failure mode caused by removable batteries.
Members asked practical operational questions: how a sealed alarm can be silenced during cooking or testing and how a resident would reset the unit. Berry said most sealed‑battery alarms include a silence/reset button and described the devices as more advanced than older removable 9‑volt models; she said the proponent group is working with the fire marshal’s office and fire chiefs and will return next session with proposed bill language.
The committee treated the presentation as informational; no committee motion or vote on statute language occurred during this meeting. The sponsor said the intent is to make the statute technology neutral rather than to mandate a single battery chemistry.
