New Maryland Law Intended to Prevent Fire-Related Fatalities Posted by Unknown on 8/19/2013

A new law went into effect in Maryland last month, meant to improve fire safety in the state. Since most smoke alarms are equipped with batteries that need to be changed every 6 months, and since it is often the case that people remove these batteries to prevent them from making beeping sounds in the middle of the night when the batteries are about to expire, most people have smoke alarms that don't work as well as they should. The new Maryland law will take care of that problem by requiring homeowners to replace any battery-operated smoke alarm more than 10 years old with a unit powered by a 10-year sealed-in battery.

Sure, the conspiracy crowd sees this as the final proof of Big-Brother invasion. But while technology has improved in so many different fields, old-fashioned smoke alarms are still around, acting more as a nuisance than as an essential safety tool. And since there have been more fire-related fatalities in Maryland than last year, I think the government is right in acting here with this new law.

The Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office and other fire officials have joined leading fire safety product manufacturer, Kidde Fire Safety, in a public service campaign urging families to take action.

I hope I can convince you to head into your local Home Depot and get a Kidde Worry-Free Smoke Alarm, whether you live in Maryland or not. I received a review sample in the mail, for the record. The good news is that you can get one too, if you live in Maryland.

Kidde is giving one free 10-year smoke detector to a Maryland reader of this blog. I'll make the sweepstakes as easy as possible, since it's limited to Maryland residents: just tweet about the giveaway.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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