Submitted by City of Evanston

In 2017, the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance worked with the General Assembly to pass a law requiring Illinois residents to replace their old smoke alarms with a long-term, 10-year sealed battery beginning January 1, 2023. This would apply to residents still using alarms with removable batteries or alarms that are not hardwired.

What is the Updated Illinois Smoke Alarm Law?

  • Since 1988, all dwellings in Illinois have been required to have smoke alarms.
  • In 2017, Public Act 100-0200 was passed to update the Illinois Smoke Detector Act to reflect advances in alarm technology.
  • Come January 1, 2023, any new smoke alarm installed within a single or multi-family home is required to be featured with a 10-year sealed battery.
  • Smoke alarms in a single or multi-family home before January 1, 2023, may remain in place until they exceed ten years from their manufactured date, fails to respond to operability tests, or otherwise malfunctions.
  • This law only pertains to smoke alarms, not carbon monoxide alarms.

Exemptions

  • Homes built after 1988 that already have hardwired smoke alarms.
  • Homes with wireless integrated alarms that use low-power radio frequency communications, Wi-Fi, or other Wireless Local Area Networking capability.

The Benefit of 10-year Sealed Batteries

  • Hassle-free since there is no more climbing up the ladder to change batteries twice a year.
  • No late-night low-battery chirps.
  • More savings since you will not need to pay for costly battery replacements for the life of the alarm.

What You Can Expect in Evanston

  • Smoke alarms need to be installed within each bedroom and on each floor of a residence, including basements but not including unoccupied attics.
  • If a smoke alarm needs to be replaced, you can purchase one with a self-contained, non-removable long-term battery.
  • The Evanston Fire Department recommends developing and practicing your home escape plan. For more information, visit https://www.ready.gov/plan.

To view the Illinois law, visit https:// www.ifsa.org/smoke-alarm-law.

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  2. People are totally confused by this law. Different sites say that you need to remove/replace existing units. This one says you don’t need to until they age out. Now good information on what happens in houses with multiple units. If some of them are sealed batteries, is that compliant? None of the sites I have seen address the multiple detector situation. According to some sites, Chicago is exempted, but I have never seen an explanation.

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