Post by schwarz on Mar 9, 2006 13:55:44 GMT -5
cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?sectionId=46&id=48025
ROBERT DAVIS
USA TODAY
Federal safety officials are investigating flaws in a popular smoke and carbon monoxide detector after devices installed in off-campus housing near Penn State University were found to be inoperable.
Investigating complaints, fire inspectors in State College, Pa., found last month that many of First Alert's ONELINK detectors had drained their batteries less than six weeks after installation. National Fire Protection Association codes call for detectors to work for a year on the same batteries.
"It's a life safety issue for us," says Tim Knisely, senior fire inspector for the Centre Region Code Administration in State College. "We wanted to let our public know there is a problem with this particular brand." The agency regulates the construction and safety of buildings in area towns.
BRK Brands, which makes First Alert products, says an investigation is underway. "This is a considerable nuisance," spokeswoman Debbie Hanson says. "We definitely will fix this as soon as possible."
The company says the Consumer Product Safety Commission is reviewing the issue. "There is not any indication that this safety device is working one day and failing the next minute," commission spokeswoman Julie Vallese says.
Vallese says the commission will not discuss specifics during an open investigation.
The $40 detectors have been installed in about 30,000 U.S. homes to create wireless safety networks, according to First Alert. Unlike conventional smoke detectors that are independent units, ONELINK detectors communicate with each other wirelessly, sounding a multiroom alarm that can easily be heard throughout the dwelling.
A USA TODAY report published in January found that fires in off-campus housing are a leading killer of four-year-college students, particularly seniors.
State College fire officials ordered the installation of connected alarm systems in all 15,000 rental properties in the city after the death of Penn State senior Christopher Raspanti in April.
Raspanti, a 21-year-old electrical engineering student, died when a fire swept a three-story brick house near the college. Inspectors found no smoke detector near his top-floor room, Knisely says.
Since Raspanti's death, about 6,000 ONELINK alarms have been sold in the area, Knisely says.
Knisely notes that some detectors didn't work because residents had removed the batteries to silence the low-battery alarm.
Fire-safety advocates say similar checks are needed across the USA.
"What you are seeing in State College could be a microcosm of what is happening across the country," says Ed Comeau, director of the Center for Campus Fire Safety in Amherst, Mass.
Karen Haggerty, a Home Depot spokeswoman, said Wednesday that the home-improvement retailer will pull the ONELINK alarms from its shelves nationwide.
ROBERT DAVIS
USA TODAY
Federal safety officials are investigating flaws in a popular smoke and carbon monoxide detector after devices installed in off-campus housing near Penn State University were found to be inoperable.
Investigating complaints, fire inspectors in State College, Pa., found last month that many of First Alert's ONELINK detectors had drained their batteries less than six weeks after installation. National Fire Protection Association codes call for detectors to work for a year on the same batteries.
"It's a life safety issue for us," says Tim Knisely, senior fire inspector for the Centre Region Code Administration in State College. "We wanted to let our public know there is a problem with this particular brand." The agency regulates the construction and safety of buildings in area towns.
BRK Brands, which makes First Alert products, says an investigation is underway. "This is a considerable nuisance," spokeswoman Debbie Hanson says. "We definitely will fix this as soon as possible."
The company says the Consumer Product Safety Commission is reviewing the issue. "There is not any indication that this safety device is working one day and failing the next minute," commission spokeswoman Julie Vallese says.
Vallese says the commission will not discuss specifics during an open investigation.
The $40 detectors have been installed in about 30,000 U.S. homes to create wireless safety networks, according to First Alert. Unlike conventional smoke detectors that are independent units, ONELINK detectors communicate with each other wirelessly, sounding a multiroom alarm that can easily be heard throughout the dwelling.
A USA TODAY report published in January found that fires in off-campus housing are a leading killer of four-year-college students, particularly seniors.
State College fire officials ordered the installation of connected alarm systems in all 15,000 rental properties in the city after the death of Penn State senior Christopher Raspanti in April.
Raspanti, a 21-year-old electrical engineering student, died when a fire swept a three-story brick house near the college. Inspectors found no smoke detector near his top-floor room, Knisely says.
Since Raspanti's death, about 6,000 ONELINK alarms have been sold in the area, Knisely says.
Knisely notes that some detectors didn't work because residents had removed the batteries to silence the low-battery alarm.
Fire-safety advocates say similar checks are needed across the USA.
"What you are seeing in State College could be a microcosm of what is happening across the country," says Ed Comeau, director of the Center for Campus Fire Safety in Amherst, Mass.
Karen Haggerty, a Home Depot spokeswoman, said Wednesday that the home-improvement retailer will pull the ONELINK alarms from its shelves nationwide.