State law requires working smoke detectors for rental units

GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — This past Saturday, a Brownsville mother died in an Alamo house fire. Her boyfriend, who was also inside at the time, says he never heard the alarm of a smoke detector in the house he was renting.

“Life or death, absolutely, because they don’t have the smoke alarms to early activate and they don’t wake up until the smoke is already filling the house and the flames are filling the house — they have little time to get out,” said Chief Bryan Cathey of the Gibson County Fire Department.

Little is left of a home on Etheridge Street in Humboldt where a 7-year-old boy lost his life to a house fire, and officials tell us there were no smoke detectors present.

According to Tennessee law, every rental unit is required to have a working smoke detector upon move-in.

“Safety-wise, it’s an excellent idea, but there’s a huge liability issue if landlords do not provide those working smoke alarms,” Madison County Fire Marshal Don Friddle said.

Frittle says landlords can face a misdemeanor citation or worse.

“He can be fined up to $100 a day and can incur prison time actually, or jail time, for not doing this,” Chief Cathey said.

Officials recommend property owners include the fact that there’s a working smoke detector in the lease before the tenant signs it.

“What we’re asking landlords to do is either take a picture with a date under it, or the person that’s renting it holding the date, just so you have proof that you put it in,” Chief Cathey said.

Officials say if you discover your residence does not have a smoke detector, contact your landlord immediately.

“We’re giving them away free and we’re installing them free, so there’s no excuse,” Chief Cathey said.

Even though landlords must provide smoke detectors, the law states it’s up to renters to keep them in working order.