Common Council Passes Smoke Alarm Ordinance
Family Pushed For Change Following Fatal Fire
Updated: 2:09 pm CST March 4, 2009
MADISON, Wis. -- The Madison Common Council on Tuesday night unanimously voted for the "Peter Talen Smoke Alarm Ordinance," which requires landlords and residents to install a smoke alarm in every bedroom and on every floor of a residence.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportThe Talen family lost their son, Peter, in a Madison fire more than a year and a half ago. Six disabled smoke detectors issued no warning. Peter Talen's parents, Patty and Tim, made the trip down from Plymouth, Wis., on Tuesday to urge the Common Council to approve tougher laws for both tenants and landlords."Life if very precious I have learned in a very difficult way and yet in this moment in time you all by this ordinance affirming life," Patty Talen told the council members."We just miss him like crazy and this I guess a way to put something in his memory that that people will always associate with him," said Tim Talen about his son,It’s the heartbreaking plea of a mother hoping to ensure another family is spared a tragedy like hers."If for in his name something can be better, that's about the best for us as a family as well as other people," said Patty Talen.The ordinance requires city of Madison landlords and homeowners to install a smoke alarm in every bedroom and every floor of a home. It also bans the use of 9-volt batteries. Under the ordinance, tenants and landlords will have two options. They can either install an alarm that is wired and has a non-rechargeable or rechargeable battery, or a smoke alarm that's non-removable and has a 10-year lithium battery.Andrew Talen said he saw his brother the night before fire ripped through his Bedford Street home. Three people, including Andrew, managed to escape. Peter Talan didn’t make it out.Andrew Talen said that smoke alarms aren't something that college students normally think aboutFire investigators found that six smoke alarms in the house Talen was staying at while visiting his brother were all disabled."This law recognizes that it's both the responsibility of the property owner and the tenant in the case of properties to maintain and insure that there are operable smoke alarms that meet the code," said Alder Mike Verveer.The Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin supported the ordinance Tuesday night but acknowledged that is will cost some landlords anywhere from a couple hundred dollars up to tens of thousands of dollars for large complexes.Residential buildings like apartments and rental homes are required to have the specified smoke alarms installed by Aug.15 and individual-owned homes by Aug. 15, 2010.The ordinance could be signed by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz by the end of the week, WISC-TV reported.A big part of this ordinance is education about smoke alarms, especially for renters. With each new lease and once a year, landlords will be responsible for giving tenants fire safety brochures with everything from how to test the alarms to penalties for tampering with them.The Madison Fire Department said it will be supplying landlords with fire safety materials in the coming days, WISC-TV reported.Penalties for noncompliance by either tenants or landlords are $172.For More Info:
VIDEO: Watch The ReportThe Talen family lost their son, Peter, in a Madison fire more than a year and a half ago. Six disabled smoke detectors issued no warning. Peter Talen's parents, Patty and Tim, made the trip down from Plymouth, Wis., on Tuesday to urge the Common Council to approve tougher laws for both tenants and landlords."Life if very precious I have learned in a very difficult way and yet in this moment in time you all by this ordinance affirming life," Patty Talen told the council members."We just miss him like crazy and this I guess a way to put something in his memory that that people will always associate with him," said Tim Talen about his son,It’s the heartbreaking plea of a mother hoping to ensure another family is spared a tragedy like hers."If for in his name something can be better, that's about the best for us as a family as well as other people," said Patty Talen.The ordinance requires city of Madison landlords and homeowners to install a smoke alarm in every bedroom and every floor of a home. It also bans the use of 9-volt batteries. Under the ordinance, tenants and landlords will have two options. They can either install an alarm that is wired and has a non-rechargeable or rechargeable battery, or a smoke alarm that's non-removable and has a 10-year lithium battery.Andrew Talen said he saw his brother the night before fire ripped through his Bedford Street home. Three people, including Andrew, managed to escape. Peter Talan didn’t make it out.Andrew Talen said that smoke alarms aren't something that college students normally think aboutFire investigators found that six smoke alarms in the house Talen was staying at while visiting his brother were all disabled."This law recognizes that it's both the responsibility of the property owner and the tenant in the case of properties to maintain and insure that there are operable smoke alarms that meet the code," said Alder Mike Verveer.The Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin supported the ordinance Tuesday night but acknowledged that is will cost some landlords anywhere from a couple hundred dollars up to tens of thousands of dollars for large complexes.Residential buildings like apartments and rental homes are required to have the specified smoke alarms installed by Aug.15 and individual-owned homes by Aug. 15, 2010.The ordinance could be signed by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz by the end of the week, WISC-TV reported.A big part of this ordinance is education about smoke alarms, especially for renters. With each new lease and once a year, landlords will be responsible for giving tenants fire safety brochures with everything from how to test the alarms to penalties for tampering with them.The Madison Fire Department said it will be supplying landlords with fire safety materials in the coming days, WISC-TV reported.Penalties for noncompliance by either tenants or landlords are $172.For More Info: Copyright 2009 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
