Philly council members to debate battery life requirement for smoke detectors

Philadelphia City Council members aren’t sure if they have the authority to mandate a certain type of battery for smoke detectors. But they’re sure going to talk about it.

They plan to hold a hearing this spring about whether to issue a mandate that battery-operated smoke detectors in the city use batteries with a 10-year lifespan.
Councilman Curtis Jones, D-4th, told KYW 82 percent of fatalities last year were due to missing or broken smoke detectors. So his bill requires one- and two-family homes to use 10-year, non-removable batteries.

An added bonus would be not having to listen to the change-you-clocks-change-your-batteries reminder during Daylight Savings.