Decatur, Ill (WAND) – Fire and health experts are urging people to switch to sealed smoke detectors with a 10-year life before a 2022 deadline.
Older smoke detectors require changing batteries every 6-months. However, people frequently don’t remember to change the batteries or remove them without replacement batteries.Â
The number of fatal fires in mounting in 2018. So far this year 98 people have died in fires in Illinois. In 2017, there were 114 deaths in residential fires. It’s estimated 70 percent of those who died did not have a smoke detector properly working or installed according to the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance.
Since 2014 Decatur has seen 8 fatal fires. It’s believed only two individuals were in homes with working smoke detectors.
The battery in a sealed detector lasts 10-years and does not require battery changes or tests.
