Detector Inoperative; Resident Dies in Fire
An early morning fire in the Huntington, N. Y., Fire District on the first floor of a two-story, wood-frame building occupied by two families, resulted in the death of the first-floor occupant. The residents of the second floor had purchased a battery-operated, ionization-type smoke detector while they lived at a previous residence. After the family moved to the new apartment, the detector was not reinstalled, but stored on a shelf located on the landing of the stairway. The fire was reported to the Huntington Fire Department by a next door neighbor who was awakened by the flames coming from the first-floor apartment.
Investigation of the fire revealed that the smoke detector had not activated. Fire Inspector Joseph Cassella of the Huntington Fire District was of the opinion that the volume of smoke contained in the house should have sounded the alarm even though the smoke detector was not properly positioned. Further investigat ion of the detector revealed that a wire leading to the sounding device had been previously dismantled. Perhaps the reason for the detector being dismantled was due to fhe device false-alarming when it was originally installed. However, it was never placed back in working order.
