The Senate today (April 29) approved two bills introduced by Senator Dan Laughlin (R-49) to improve safety in state-regulated daycare facilities, measures he introduced in response to a tragic fire that claimed the lives of five young children in Erie last year.
Senate Bill 934 requires the Department of Human Services to include the inspection of all smoke detectors in their annual inspection of child care facilities. Senate Bill 935 amends the state Fire and Panic Act regarding smoke detectors.
“I appreciate the support of my colleagues to advance these bills,” Senator Laughlin said. “I joined with the Erie community in mourning for the children whose lives were cut short by a fire last August. What made it even more tragic was the fact that they may have been saved if the home had been properly equipped with smoke detectors. Only one smoke detector was found in the home and it was in the attic. It is government’s responsibility to learn from these tragic cases and to act to prevent them in the future.”
Senator Laughlin’s legislation designates the locations where smoke detectors must be installed and requires that they are interconnected so that if one is triggered, they all go off. Child care facilities will be subject to legal penalties in cases where a smoke detector is found to have been tampered with or disabled.
The bills now go to the House of Representatives for consideration.
