Has your cooking ever set off the smoke detector in your home and you pulled the battery temporarily to make the noise stop? I'm embarrassed to say I have done this and it's a risky thing to do, because if you forget to reattached the battery you are unprotected in case of a fire. Beginning December 1st, new rules in Massachusetts will eventually make it impossible to remove batteries and in doing so, save lives. From now on all single and two- family homes built prior to 1975 must install new, sealed smoke detectors with a lithium battery in order to sell. Any home with a smoke detector less than ten years of age as of 12/1/16 will be grandfathered in until that detector is ten years old. The new detectors last ten years and then they must be replaced with new devices as well. The new requirement is in addition to previous regulation that requires photoelectric detectors installed within 20 feet of a kitchen or bathroom containing a bathtub or shower. The photoelectric sensors are designed not to trip during cooking or hot steamy showers as did the older ionization units. To determine the age of your smoke detector, check the date stamp on the back of your device. If there is no date, the unit is older than ten years and should be replaced. The town of Yarmouth on Cape Cod has an easy-to-reference guide which I often use in my real estate business in all towns. Keep in mind, these are state regulations and are not applicable to only Yarmouth, so you can use this in any town in the Bay State. And for more information on the new rules, visit the Massachusetts Public Safety site here.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Maureen Green
|