Faulty Smoke Detectors

Defect in smoke detectors are claiming lives and causing injury all over the country, and it is more than just one brand of smoke detector.

Messa & Associates is currently representing the estates of a family of seven who perished in a house fire due to faulty smoke Kidde Inc. smoke detectors. We have represented many victims in product defects, but believe that this is one of the most important cases that could save families across the country. If you or someone you know has been involved in a similar accident involving smoke detectors and house fires, please contact Messa & Associates immediately at 215.568.3500 or toll-free 866.40.4LAW.

Cortesy of WKRG.com Mobile/Pensacola
December 4, 2008
By Kesshia Peyton Anchor/Reporter

A Chickasaw mother and father are looking for justice for the death of their 11-year-old son.
In May, Kentarian Williams died after he couldn't make it out of the family's burning home.
The child's parents believe electrical problems started the blaze and say their complaints were never answered.

The Williams family also blames smoke detectors that never went off.
Thursday, their attorney filed a lawsuit against Keith Realty, the owner of the home, and two smoke alarm manufacturers.

"They do not work when a house fills with smoke or they sound very late, up to an hour and a lot of folks don't know this and the smoke detector industry doesn't let people know this," said Williams attorney Richard Taylor.
Keith Realty has declined to comment on the lawsuit. The state fire marshal’s office hasn't released the official cause of the fire. A spokesperson says it's still under investigation.

Courtesy of 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.