State Fire Marshal Mike Causey on Monday warned fire departments and residents across North Carolina about concerns related to Universal smoke alarms.
Fire chiefs and others have reported problems with the Universal detectors, and state officials have reported the product to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and have stopped installing them in North Carolina.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal regularly partners with local communities and fire departments to ensure residents have operating smoke detectors installed. The state program has installed more than 21,000 smoke alarms, which have led to at least eight lives being saved across North Carolina, officials said.