Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – It’s state law for homes to have a smoke detector – either hard-wired or with a ten-year sealed battery. But the other kind is still on the market. 

From the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance and Illinois Firefighters Association, Margaret Vaughn says you shouldn’t even be able to buy the non-compliant smoke alarms such as the one pictured.

“What this legislation would do is prevent retailers from continuing to sell the unsafe models,” Vaughn told a statehouse news conference. “It makes no sense that this law went into effect in 2023; here we are three years later and 288 residential fire deaths later, and these retailers are thumbing their nose at the law and confusing consumers who are trying to comply with the law.”

Champaign deputy fire marshal Jeremy Mitchell said there often is not enough time to save people inside a burning home.

“Flashover, the total involvement of a room area, is in three minutes,” he said. “If you’re overcome by smoke, brain death can start in four to six minutes. In rural Champaign County, it takes on average ten minutes for a fire department to get dispatched before they place a fire engine with people who can go inside and deal with the problem at your front door.”