Number of working smoke alarms down sharply in Cedar Rapids

Firefighters say the most calls to homes come during the winter months.

“Typically, your busiest times of the year for residential home fires are December, January and February as you have a lot more fires when people heat their homes,” said Greg Buelow of the Cedar Rapids Fire Department.

Even months since winter, Cedar Rapids firefighters have spent this month on the scene of plenty of calls, including a deadly fire at 901 Oakland Road NE. Investigators say Rodney Noye, 35, died from smoke inhalation in the fire on May 10.

Last Sunday, Buelow said a fire at the Gateway Gardens Apartment Complex, on 6th Street SW, was intentionally set but no one was hurt. Later that day, a fire of Franklin Avenue NE in Cedar Rapids forced people to find other housing. Buelow said the Gateway Gardens fire was one of the few with a smoke alarm working properly.

“Of all the stucture fires in residential properties this year, in only 15% did the fire department verify that a smoke alarm was actually working,” said Buelow. The fire department's statistics from the previous year put the number of working smoke alarms at their domestic fire calls at 28%.

He went on to say that, many times, people will take the batteries out of their smoke detectors because of false alarms from cooking in the kitchen or steam coming from a hot shower.

Buelow suggested people who do pull the batteries out consider an alternative that is a bit more expensive: a smoke detector that can operate through a television remote control.

“If you place (the smoke alarm) up on your wall or your ceiling, if you get a false alarm and where there is no fire present and you're trying to fan it, aim the TV remote control and it will silence the alarm for seven minutes,” said Buelow.

The price difference is noticable as a base level smoke detector costs about $10. Expect to pay about $40 for a smoke alarm with remote control capabilities.

Arson is a constant concern but Buelow said Cedar Rapids actually has been fortunate in that the number of arson cases is quite low. He said, even in flooded areas from 2008, the fire department has only had about “a dozen incidents”. To help stop arson, Buelow said people using equipment powered by gas, such as lawn mowers, should make sure to keep their gas cans out of plain view.

-Chris Earl, KCRG-TV9 News