Fire Marshal Bill/In Living Color
With all the news about deadly fires and the lack of smoke detectors, I figured it would be a great time to remind everyone to check the batteries in their smoke detectors. Remember, the rule of thumb is to check your batteries twice a year during daylight saving. While false alarms can be annoying you’ll find yourself living your worst nightmare if you disable your smoke detector and a fire breaks out. The best way to prevent false alarms is to place the smoke detector outside of your bedroom instead of near the kitchen. My smoke detector rarely goes off unless I have really burned something to a crisp. Also, if you are renter it is the responsibility of your landlord to provide you with both a working smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector (my landlord provided me with combination unit,) but you could be charged $10 to reimburse them for the cost of the detector.
So take the time to go through your home and check that your equipment is in working order. Be safe out there.
Related: Babes to Safety [U.F.]
D. Bell
October 14, 2008
While it would certainly be in the best interest of the landlord to do so, from the information posted on the link it is the responsibility of the tenant to maintain said smoke detector. I believe that is also outlined in the lease. You might be able to obtain free batteries from The Red Cross or FDNY in the case of hardship. http://www.nyredcross.org/viewnews.php/prmMediaTypeID/38/prmMID/395/prmID/115
narmer
October 14, 2008
Also remember that the Landlord is also liable for a replacement battery when asked by the tenant.