Photoelectric Smoke Detectors

Now mandatory in Vermont.

A recent law in the State of Vermont, signed by governor Jim Douglas, will require the installation of photoelectric smoke detectors in homes that are being newly constructed and homes that are being sold.

The passing of the law stems from an incident that occurred in Barre, VT in 2005, in which a mother and her four children died due to a smoldering fire. The Barre, VT fire department concluded that due to the fact that the individuals died due to smoke inhalation, the incident could have been avoided by the use of photoelectric smoke detectors. In order to control more incidents such as this from happening, the State of Vermont passed law S.226.

The Vermont Law S.226 states that research conducted by the Boston Fire Department concluded that "when confronted with a smoldering fire, a smoke detector using only ionization technology responds on average 30 minutes after photoelectric technology and often not until debilitating levels of smoke exist."

The law will take effect on January 1, 2009 and while the law will require the installation of photoelectric smoke detectors, it will not prohibit or discourage the use of additional types of smoke detectors.