Last week, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley led the City Council to pass Intro. 1294, to require the Fire Department to collect detailed information about fatal fires and share it with the public.
“Fire fatalities are at an all-time low, but one fire-related death is still one too many. Last year, the city had 48,” Crowley said. “We have a responsibility to to all we can to save as many lives as possible through common-sense policy.”
The bill requires FDNY to collect information about the type of smoke alarms found in fatal fires, as well as information from the Medical Examiner about the cause of death.
The data will be given to the public and policymakers.
New York City law requires all residences and buildings to have one of two types of smoke alarms – ionization or photoelectric. They both detect flames, but the photoelectric technology has been proven to more quickly detect smoke, Crowley said.
The majority of fire-related deaths are caused by smoke inhalation.
The city only knows if a smoke alarm was present at a fatal fire, not what type of alarm it was.
“It’s so important that we have comprehensive information about fire that injure New Yorkers,” Crowley said. “Through this legislation, we can see how certain deaths correlate with the use of a certain type of smoke alarm, and make the changes needed to save more lives.”