Faces of Fire Safety: Disabled Smoke Alarms Lead to Tragedy

That chirping noise your smoke alarm makes when the batteries are low might be annoying, but it's there to save lives. It takes just minutes to replace the batteries, but many people make a deadly mistake by removing them instead to stop the chirping. Despite good intentions to install new batteries later, it’s easy to forget – which can have devastating consequences. 

On November 6, 62-year-old Peter Gurley fell victim to a fire at his home in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Although first responders arrived quickly and provided emergency treatment, Gurley did not survive. Investigators found that the fire began in the home’s living room, where they discovered smoking materials and an overloaded power strip. 

Tragically, all six smoke detectors in Gurley's home were rendered useless, having been removed from the ceiling and without batteries installed. 

“About half of last year’s residential fire deaths in Massachusetts took place in homes without working smoke alarms,” said Jon M. Davine, the state fire marshal.  

Home Fire Fast Facts 

• Although there have been fewer fires in the U.S. than in past decades, statistically, if a home fire is reported, occupants are more likely to die today than 40 years ago. (NFPA, 2021)  
• A home fire is reported in the U.S. every 93 seconds. (The Hartford - via NFPA)   
• The average time available to escape a home fire was 17 minutes 40 years ago, but is now only three minutes due to the increased use of synthetic materials in furnishings and construction supplies, open floor plans, and other factors. (Fire Safety Research Institute, 2017) 

Standards Save Lives 

For over 120 years, UL Standards & Engagement has developed and maintained fire safety standards. In fact, our very first standard, published  in 1903, covered tin-clad fire doors. (It has been updated many times and remains in circulation as UL10A.)  These standards guide the design, construction, and testing of fire safety products to ensure they perform as intended and protect people and property. 

UL 217, the Standard for Smoke Alarms, includes a number of requirements intended to save lives, such as the audible signals to alert  before the batteries become discharged. This “chirp” prompts consumers to take the action to replace the batteries.  

To combat nuisance alarms during cooking, a leading cause of disabled smoke alarms,  UL 217 requires smoke alarms to utilize technology discerning between these nuisance fires and those posing a greater risk to life and property. Learn more about these advances and how they reduce false alarms during cooking. 

To read more about this story, read Fatal Nantucket fire: Investigators found six disabled smoke alarms in home on Cape Cod Times. An update to the story can be found here.