Smoke Alarm Lawsuit in Alabama, Florida & Mississippi
Fact or Fiction
- My Smoke Alarm Will Sound if My House Fills With Smoke . . . After All, it is a SMOKE
ALARM
FICTION - Ionization Smoke Alarm Are the Only Type of Smoke Alarm In 90% of American Homes
FACT - If There Were Major Differences in Performance During a Fire, the Smoke Alarm Manufacturers
Would Let Us Know
FICTION
Smoke Alarm Q&A
- What Type of Smoke Alarm Do You Have in Your Home?
’re like 95% of U.S. households you have an ionization smoke alarm.
If you do we urge you to read on to discovery the dirty and deadly secrets that our firm
has spent the past 20 years fighting to uncover.
- Compared to a Photoelectric or Dual-Sensor Smoke Alarm In a Smoldering Fire, the Ionization
Alarm Can Sound:
- A. Up to 10 minutes later;
- B. Up to 25 minutes later;
- C. Up to 40 minutes later;
- D. Not at all;
- E. All of the Above.
(Answer: E)
- Ionization v. Photoelectric - What is the Difference?
If you were to read the fine print on the back of nearly every smoke alarm on the market you
will find wording similar to this:
“Ionization alarms may perform better in fast, flaming fires. Photoelectric smoke alarms may
perform better in slow, smoldering fires.”
There are many facts and statistics hidden within this short and confusing disclaimer that
prompt the need to go well beyond it to educate and inform consumers of the dangers
involved in relying on ionization-only smoke alarms.
There are two primary types of smoke alarm sensing technologies: photoelectric and
ionization. A photoelectric smoke alarm is best for detecting slow smoldering fires. Slow
smoldering fires typically involve lots of smoke and little or no flames. For example, a piece
of furniture such as a couch may smolder and billow plumes of toxic smoke for a long period
of time before developing into a flaming fire. Slow smoldering fires typically occur when
people are asleep and are generally responsible for more deaths than fast flaming fires.
Photoelectric smoke alarms cost approximately $15.00, but represent less than approximately
5% of all smoke alarms sold in America. We recommend a photoelectric smoke alarm or a
photoelectric/ionization combination (dual sensor smoke alarm). Many leading fire experts
agree.
The ionization smoke alarm is best for detecting fast flaming fires where there is less smoke.
Ionization smoke alarms cost approximately $10.00 and represent approximately 95% of
alarms sold in America. The ionization smoke alarm may not respond at all to a slow
smoldering fire even when a room is completely filled with smoke. If an ionization smoke
alarm sounds in a slow smoldering fire, it frequently takes up to 30 minutes longer for it to
sound when compared to a photoelectric.
There is an abundance of technical literature showing that ionization smoke alarms have a
40-minute delay in sounding when compared to a photoelectric in a slow smoldering fire.
Our law firm has been involved in a number of smoke alarm cases and the experts for the
manufacturers admit this delay. Surprisingly, the in-house engineers and executives at the
major smoke alarm manufacturers admit this fact also. At the same time, all the major smoke
alarm manufacturers promote the idea that “every second counts in a fire.”
The ionization chamber in ionization smoke alarms is basically the same in all ionization
smoke alarms sold in America. The technology for the ionization sensing chamber has not
changed in over 25 years. The defect associated with ionization smoke alarms has been the
subject of several investigative news programs. The defect in the ionization smoke alarm
has caused several deaths throughout America. Fire expert and Boston Deputy Fire Chief
Jay Fleming believes the defective ionization alarm has claimed the lives of more than
10,000 in house fires over the past few decades, innocent victims guilty of nothing more than
not knowing the smoke alarm installed in their homes would not sense the deadly smoke
filling their homes. Despite all this the smoke alarm manufacturers continue to sell them at
an alarming rate and have chosen not to inform or warn the purchasing public about the
defect.
- What are Smoke Alarm Manufacturers Not Telling Us?
Educating consumers on the difference is not something at least one leading smoke alarm
manufacturer plans to do, according to sworn testimony from one of its executives. When
asked if it was important for consumers to know the difference between photoelectric
technology and ionization his testimony without hesitation and under oath was “No.”
During the past 20 years of litigating smoke alarm lawsuits our attorneys have uncovered
shocking and scandalous facts. This material has been pulled straight from the
manufacturers; documents from their own filing cabinets and sworn testimony straight from
the mouths of their own corporate executives.
The material we’ve uncovered is downright staggering. Due to the nature of litigation a vast
majority of these documents are protected under Court orders. Therefore, we may never have
the opportunity to fully expose the dirty secrets these manufacturers hide from through their
many Protective Orders.
Our firm vows to break the silence of this deadly secret in every way we can rightfully do so.
We will not allow the manufacturers to continue to sit in silence and watch the everincreasing
profit margins on their ionization alarms as the alarms sit in silence in a home full
of toxic deadly smoke. It is the sleeping Americans in that smoke-filled home that drive us
to do what we do. You’ve all heard the countless newscasts of tragic early morning house
fires that take the lives of children, parents or an entire family. Our firm has represented the
families and survivors of these tragic stories. After 20 years of battling in court with these
manufacturers we believe ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! We are rolling up our sleeves in an
effort to do what these manufacturers should be doing, but never will - educate America.
Richard Taylor, our senior partner, founded the Smoke Alarm Awareness Foundation
(SAAF) in 2009. SAAF was founded in memory of the victims of silent ionization smoke
alarms and in honor of the lives that may be saved through education and awareness of
defective ionization technology. SAAF is currently drafting a bill to introduce to the
Alabama legislature later this year that will eliminate ionization technology as a primary
means of fire protection. If passed, ionization-only alarms will no longer be allowed to be
the only smoke alarm in homes in Alabama. At least one photoelectric or dual-sensor alarm
will be required on each floor of a residence.
STAGGERING STATISTICS
Smoldering fires are the leading cause of US fire fatalities.Hall, John R., “A Decade of Detectors: Measuring the Effect”, Fire Journal, (Sept/Oct,
1985), pp. 37-43, 78.
The Overall Fire Picture - 2007
There were 3,430 civilians that lost their lives as the result of fire.
There were 17,675 civilian injuries that occurred as the result of fire.
There were 118 firefighters killed while on duty.
Fire killed more Americans than all natural disasters combined.
84 percent of all civilian fire deaths occurred in residences.
There were an estimated 1.6 million fires in 2007.
Direct property loss due to fires was estimated at $14.6 billion.
An estimated 32,500 intentionally set structure fires resulted in 295 civilian deaths.
Intentionally set structure fires resulted in an estimated $733 million in property damage.
Source: National Fire Protection Association Fire Loss in the U.S. 2007 and USFA's
Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2007.
In 1978, a study conducted of 463 Maryland fire deaths occurring during 1972-1977
concluded that SMOKE INHALATION accounts for roughly three-quarters of all fire
deaths. THESE STATISTICS REMAIN ARE UNCHANGED.
W G. Berl and B. M. Halpin. Human fatalities from unwanted fires. The Johns Hopkins
University. Applied Physics Laboratory. Fire Problems Program. APL JHU FPP TR 37.
December 1978.
TIME FOR CHANGE
Implement Change - If you have ionization only alarms in your home please protect your family byinstalling photoelectric and/or dual sensor alarms TODAY!
Support change - Make a donation to SAAF (SMOKE ALARM AWARENESS FOUNDATION)
Voice your concerns - Send the manufacturer of your alarms this letter. Attached in downloadable
formats Adobe; Word, and WordPerfect.
