The Marion Illinois Fire Department wants everyone to remember that SMOKE ALARMS save lives–install and maintain them. ***According to the National Fire Protection Association, three out of five home fire deaths result from fires in properties without working smoke alarms.***
Please keep these safety tips in mind:
- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home.
- Place smoke alarms on the ceiling or high on the wall. Keep smoke alarms away from the kitchen to reduce false alarms. Generally, they should be at least 10 feet (3 meters) from a cooking appliance.
- Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button and replace batteries in all smoke alarms at least twice a year when changing your clock for daylight savings.
- Replace all smoke alarms when they are ten years old or sooner if they do not respond properly when tested.
- Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm and understands what to do when they hear it.
- Do not disable your smoke alarm if it alarms due to cooking or other non-fire causes. Disabling a smoke alarm or removing the battery can be a deadly mistake. Instead you should:
- Open a window or door and press the “hush” button.
- Wave a towel at the alarm to clear the air.
- Move the entire alarm several feet away from the kitchen or bathroom.
The following information is provided by the State of Illinois Compiled Statutes.
(425 ILCS 60/) Smoke Detector Act.
(425 ILCS 60/1) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 801)
Sec. 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the Smoke Detector Act.
(Source: P.A. 85‑143.)
(425 ILCS 60/2) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 802)
Sec. 2. For the purposes of this Act:
“Approved smoke detector” or “detector” means a smoke detector of the ionization or photoelectric type, which complies with all the requirements of the Rules and regulations of the Illinois State Fire Marshal.
“Dwelling unit” means a room or suite of rooms used for human habitation, and includes a single family residence as well as each living unit of a multiple family residence and each living unit in a mixed‑use building.
“Hotel” means any building or buildings maintained, advertised, or held out to the public to be a place where lodging is offered for consideration to travelers and guests. “Hotel” includes inns, motels, tourist homes or courts, bed and breakfast establishments and lodging houses.
(Source: P.A. 85‑1404.)
(425 ILCS 60/3) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 803)
Sec. 3. (a) Every dwelling unit shall be equipped with at least one approved smoke detector in an operating condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes. The detector shall be installed on the ceiling and at least 6 inches from any wall, or on a wall located between 4 and 6 inches from the ceiling.
(b) Every single family residence shall have at least one approved smoke detector installed on every story of the dwelling unit, including basements but not including unoccupied attics. In dwelling units with split levels, a smoke detector installed on the upper level shall suffice for the adjacent lower level if the lower level is less than one full story below the upper level; however, if there is an intervening door between the adjacent levels, a smoke detector shall be installed on each level.
(c) Every structure which (1) contains more than one dwelling unit, or (2) contains at least one dwelling unit and is a mixed‑use structure, shall contain at least one approved smoke detector at the uppermost ceiling of each interior stairwell. The detector shall be installed on the ceiling, at least 6 inches from the wall, or on a wall located between 4 and 6 inches from the ceiling.
(d) It shall be the responsibility of the owner of a structure to supply and install all required detectors. The owner shall be responsible for making reasonable efforts to test and maintain detectors in common stairwells and hallways. It shall be the responsibility of a tenant to test and to provide general maintenance for the detectors within the tenant’s dwelling unit or rooming unit, and to notify the owner or the authorized agent of the owner in writing of any deficiencies which the tenant cannot correct. The owner shall be responsible for providing one tenant per dwelling unit with written information regarding detector testing and maintenance.
The tenant shall be responsible for replacement of any required batteries in the smoke detectors in the tenant’s dwelling unit, except that the owner shall ensure that such batteries are in operating condition at the time the tenant takes possession of the dwelling unit. The tenant shall provide the owner or the authorized agent of the owner with access to the dwelling unit to correct any deficiencies in the smoke detector which have been reported in writing to the owner or the authorized agent of the owner.
(e) The requirements of this Section shall apply to any dwelling unit in existence on July 1, 1988, beginning on that date. Except as provided in subsections (f) and (g), the smoke detectors required in such dwelling units may be either battery powered or wired into the structure’s AC power line, and need not be interconnected.
(f) In the case of any dwelling unit that is newly constructed, reconstructed, or substantially remodeled after December 31, 1987, the requirements of this Section shall apply beginning on the first day of occupancy of the dwelling unit after such construction, reconstruction or substantial remodeling. The smoke detectors required in such dwelling unit shall be permanently wired into the structure’s AC power line, and if more than one detector is required to be installed within the dwelling unit, the detectors shall be wired so that the actuation of one detector will actuate all the detectors in the dwelling unit.
(g) Every hotel shall be equipped with operational portable smoke‑detecting alarm devices for the deaf and hearing impaired of audible and visual design, available for units of occupancy.
Specialized smoke‑detectors for the deaf and hearing impaired shall be available upon request by guests in such hotels at a rate of at least one such smoke detector per 75 occupancy units or portions thereof, not to exceed 5 such smoke detectors per hotel. Incorporation or connection into an existing interior alarm system, so as to be capable of being activated by the system, may be utilized in lieu of the portable alarms.
Operators of any hotel shall post conspicuously at the main desk a permanent notice, in letters at least 3 inches in height, stating that smoke detector alarm devices for the deaf and hearing impaired are available. The proprietor may require a refundable deposit for a portable smoke detector not to exceed the cost of the detector.
(h) Compliance with an applicable federal, State or local law or building code which requires the installation and maintenance of smoke detectors in a manner different from this Section, but providing a level of safety for occupants which is equal to or greater than that provided by this Section, shall be deemed to be in compliance with this Section, and the requirements of such more stringent law shall govern over the requirements of this Section.
(Source: P.A. 85‑1404.)
(425 ILCS 60/4) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 804)
Sec. 4. (a) Willful failure to install or maintain in operating condition any smoke detector required by this Act shall be a Class B misdemeanor.
(b) Tampering with, removing, destroying, disconnecting or removing the batteries from any installed smoke detector, except in the course of inspection, maintenance or replacement of the detector, shall be a Class A misdemeanor in the case of a first conviction, and a Class 4 felony in the case of a second or subsequent conviction.
(Source: P.A. 85‑143.)
(430 ILCS 135/) Carbon Monoxide Alarm Detector Act.
(430 ILCS 135/1)
Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Carbon Monoxide Alarm Detector Act.
(Source: P.A. 94‑741, eff. 1‑1‑07.)
(430 ILCS 135/5)
Sec. 5. Definitions. In this Act:
“Approved carbon monoxide alarm” or “alarm” means a carbon monoxide alarm that complies with all the requirements of the rules and regulations of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, bears the label of a nationally recognized testing laboratory, and complies with the most recent standards of the Underwriters Laboratories or the Canadian Standard Association.
“Dwelling unit” means a room or suite of rooms used for human habitation, and includes a single family residence as well as each living unit of a multiple family residence and each living unit in a mixed use building.
(Source: P.A. 94‑741, eff. 1‑1‑07.)
(430 ILCS 135/10)
Sec. 10. Carbon monoxide detector.
(a) Every dwelling unit shall be equipped with at least one approved carbon monoxide alarm in an operating condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes. The carbon monoxide alarm may be combined with smoke detecting devices provided that the combined unit complies with the respective provisions of the administrative code, reference standards, and departmental rules relating to both smoke detecting devices and carbon monoxide alarms and provided that the combined unit emits an alarm in a manner that clearly differentiates the hazard.
(b) Every structure that contains more than one dwelling unit shall contain at least one approved carbon monoxide alarm in operating condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes.
(c) It is the responsibility of the owner of a structure to supply and install all required alarms. It is the responsibility of a tenant to test and to provide general maintenance for the alarms within the tenant’s dwelling unit or rooming unit, and to notify the owner or the authorized agent of the owner in writing of any deficiencies that the tenant cannot correct. The owner is responsible for providing one tenant per dwelling unit with written information regarding alarm testing and maintenance.
The tenant is responsible for replacement of any required batteries in the carbon monoxide alarms in the tenant’s dwelling unit, except that the owner shall ensure that the batteries are in operating condition at the time the tenant takes possession of the dwelling unit. The tenant shall provide the owner or the authorized agent of the owner with access to the dwelling unit to correct any deficiencies in the carbon monoxide alarm that have been reported in writing to the owner or the authorized agent of the owner.
(d) The carbon monoxide alarms required under this Act may be either battery powered, plug‑in with battery back‑up, or wired into the structure’s AC power line with secondary battery back‑up.
(Source: P.A. 94‑741, eff. 1‑1‑07.)
(430 ILCS 135/15)
Sec. 15. Violation.
(a) Willful failure to install or maintain in operating condition any carbon monoxide alarm required by this Act is a Class B misdemeanor.
(b) Tampering with, removing, destroying, disconnecting, or removing the batteries from any installed carbon monoxide alarm, except in the course of inspection, maintenance, or replacement of the alarm, is a Class A misdemeanor in the case of a first conviction and a Class 4 felony in the case of a second or subsequent conviction.
(Source: P.A. 94‑741, eff. 1‑1‑07.)
(430 ILCS 135/20)
Sec. 20. Exemptions. The following residential units shall not require carbon monoxide detectors:
(1) A residential unit in a building that: (i) does not rely on combustion of fossil fuel for heat, ventilation, or hot water; (ii) is not connected in any way to a garage; and (iii) is not sufficiently close to any ventilated source of carbon monoxide, as determined by the local building commissioner, to receive carbon monoxide from that source.
(2) A residential unit that is not sufficiently close to any source of carbon monoxide so as to be at risk of receiving carbon monoxide from that source, as determined by the local building commissioner.
(Source: P.A. 94‑741, eff. 1‑1‑07.)