Starting April 1, it will be illegal to sell smoke detectors with removable, replaceable batteries in New York state.
The law was adopted in 2016 but it gave retailers three years to comply.
The law requires that battery-powered smoke detectors sold in the state must come with batteries that last at least 10 years and cannot be removed. Lawmakers said the mandate aims to reduce the number of people hurt or killed in fires.
Syracuse Fire Chief Michael Monds said the law will be great for residents.
“Once you put this 10-year smoke detector up, it’s going to be there for 10 years,” he said. “When you’re sleeping, it’s ready to work.”
Over half of the deadly fires in the United States between 2012 and 2016 happened in homes that didn’t have smoke alarms or had detectors that weren’t working, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Many of the homes had detectors with disconnected or missing batteries.