Florida Residents - New smoke alarm regulations you NEED to know

Florida residents, did you know that as of January 1st 2015, all newly installed and replacement battery-operated smoke alarms must be powered by sealed-in 10-year batteries? I have to admit, I hadn't heard about this new Florida smoke detector law until Kidde reached out to me about a sponsored giveaway to help spread the word about these new regulations. Please read this important information, then enter to win a Kidde Worry-Free alarm below.

In an effort to reduce residential fire fatalities, new smoke alarm regulations have gone into effect for Florida families whose homes have battery-powered smoke alarms. As outlined in the Florida Building Code, homeowners must now install 10-year, sealed-battery smoke alarms when replacing outdated or non-working alarms or installing new ones. A long-life sealed-in battery makes the alarm tamper resistant and removes the burden from users to remember to change batteries every six months.I t’s critical that families have working smoke alarms in the event of a home fire so they can evacuate as soon as they hear the first sound of the alarm.

These new regulations aim to reduce home fire deaths. Last year, 114 Floridians died in home fires, and in nearly half of those fires, smoke alarms weren’t present or weren’t working. Missing or disconnected batteries are a main reason smoke alarms fail to operate in residential fires. A recent survey conducted on behalf of Kidde ranked late-night low-battery chirps as the top smoke alarm annoyance, with 40 percent of respondents opting to either disconnect the alarm or wait a day or more to replace the battery. A long-life battery sealed inside an alarm makes it virtually tamper-proof and reduces the risk associated with disabling the alarm. The new law also will hopefully decrease the likelihood that a firefighter would be injured or killed trying to save a life.

Also in the code changes for 2015, homeowners updating one- and two-family dwellings and town homes may now use 10-year sealed-battery smoke alarms instead of retrofitting the dwelling with hard-wired models, saving the owner time and money. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recommends replacing smoke alarms every 10 years, yet industry data from Kidde found that nearly a quarter of U.S. homeowners with homes built before 2000 have outdated alarms. In fact, in a recent study by ORC International on behalf of Kidde also found that nearly five times as many Americans knew the shelf life of a Twinkie™ snack cake than the operating life of a smoke alarm. In the survey, 44 percent of respondents correctly identified 45 days as the shelf life of a Twinkie, while only 9 percent correctly noted 10 years as a smoke alarm’s operating life.

Alarms like Kidde Worry-Free sealed-battery smoke alarms comply with this code change. Ten-year sealed-battery smoke alarms, such as Kidde’s Worry-Free line, are available at home improvement retailers like The Home Depot and online at retailers like Amazon.com, and cost between $25 and $50. They will save consumers up to $40 in battery costs over the life of just one alarm. In addition, Kidde alarms contain location-based features, such as an LED light for the hallway model and a talking voice alarm feature for bedroom units. After 10 years, they will indicate it is time for replacement.

To help spread the word about this new law,
Kidde wants to give one lucky Florida resident a Worry-Free Bedroom Smoke Alarm!

Open to residents of the state of FLORIDA only, ages 18 and up. Ends 2/19/15 at 11:59 PM EST.
Enter using the Giveaway Tools form below. Good Luck!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Kidde. I received their Worry-Free alarms and a promotional item for sharing this information and giveaway with my readers. All opinions are my own. One winner will be randomly selected using the Giveaway Tools random selector and notified via email. Once notified, the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or Google. Void where prohibited. Winner MUST have a Florida mailing address.