{"id":8208,"date":"2009-10-23T12:39:03","date_gmt":"2009-10-23T17:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=8208"},"modified":"2013-08-20T02:20:57","modified_gmt":"2013-08-20T07:20:57","slug":"visual-smoke-alarms-now-state-law-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/10\/23\/visual-smoke-alarms-now-state-law-in-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"Visual Smoke Alarms now state law in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tVisual smoke alarms now a state law!<\/strong>
\n<\/h2>\n

\n\t(From the Texas Association of the Deaf Newsletter, Fall 2009)<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf requested by a tenant, a landlord must install a visual smoke detector
\n\tthat is capable of alerting a person with a hearing impairment of the
\n\tpresence of smoke. Effective: Jan. 1, 2010.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was late at night in January 2005 when Tyrus and Sephra Burks, both deaf,
\n\twere asleep in their apartment after celebrating the birthday of one of
\n\ttheir four children. A fire broke out and the living room was in flames
\n\tbefore Tyrus, who had fallen asleep on the couch watching TV, woke up. He
\n\twas able to save two of his children, but the fire had grown too large for
\n\thim to pass in order to reach Sephra who was sleeping in the bedroom
\n\tupstairs and his other two children. Sephra and two of their children died
\n\tin the fire that night. A visual smoke alarm in the bedroom might have
\n\tprevented their deaths. The tragedy that led the Texas Legislature to pass
\n\tSB 1715 is worth remembering. To honor the Burks family that lost so much,
\n\tSB 1715 is now known as the Sephra Burks' Bill.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAs of January 1, 2010, landlords of dwelling units in Texas, such as
\n\tapartment complexes, will be required to purchase and install visual smoke
\n\talarms upon request for their deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind tenants.
\n\tThese visual smoke alarms must be installed in the bedroom where a deaf,
\n\thard of hearing, or deaf-blind person will be sleeping.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe law applies to any "home, mobile home, duplex unit, apartment unit,
\n\tcondominium unit, or any dwelling unit in a multiunit residential
\n\tstructure." It also applies to "one or more rooms rented for use as a
\n\tpermanent residence under a single lease to one or more tenants."\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDeaf-blind individuals who cannot see the flashing component then the
\n\tlandlord should provide a smoke alarm bed shaker.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe landlord is responsible for the purchase and installation of the visual
\n\tsmoke alarm, just as they are responsible for traditional, audible smoke
\n\talarms.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tGenerally, you should put your request in writing and inform your landlord
\n\tthat you (or someone else living with you) are deaf, hard of hearing, or
\n\tdeafblind, and that you need a visual smoke alarm because you cannot hear
\n\tthe audible smoke alarm. The landlord should purchase and install the visual
\n\tsmoke alarm within a reasonable amount of time after they have received your
\n\trequest. If you need a specific type of visual smoke alarm, such as a bed
\n\tshaking smoke alarm, you should include that in your request and explain
\n\twhy. Be sure you keep a copy of your request. An example of a request you
\n\tcan make to your landlord can be found at the end of this article.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tGenerally, the landlord should purchase and install the visual smoke alarm
\n\twithin a reasonable amount of time after receiving a request.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe landlord may ask you for such proof, which might include a statement
\n\tfrom a doctor or audiologist. However, the landlord cannot ask for other
\n\tmedical history; the request must be limited to just that information
\n\trequired to show the hearing loss.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tLandlords should treat the provision of visual smoke alarm the same as they
\n\tdo for the other smoke alarms they provide. If they do not require a deposit
\n\tfrom their hearing tenants for the smoke alarm, then they should not require
\n\tyou to pay a deposit for the visual smoke alarm.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf you have children who are deaf the landlord must provide a visual smoke
\n\talarm in their bedroom(s).\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf the landlord does not grant your request (after the law takes effect in
\n\t2010, you should contact the Advocacy, Inc., office nearest you. Our
\n\tlocations and contact information can be found at www.advocacyinc.org<\/a>.
\n\tAdditionally, your landlord should contact the Texas Apartment Association
\n\t(www.taa.org<\/a>) to get more information on their obligations under SB 1715.
\n\tThis information has been provided by Advocacy, Incorporated and is not
\n\tlegal advice. Please consult an attorney if you have any questions. Advocacy
\n\tis a federally funded, non-profit agency that provides legal and advocacy
\n\tservices on behalf of people with disabilities.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tSource:\n<\/p>\n

\n\thttp:\/\/www.examiner.com\/x-21533-Dallas-Disability-Examiner%7Ey2009m10d23-Visual-Smoke-Alarms-now-state-law-in-Texas<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tUseful information regarding this law can be found here.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Visual smoke alarms now a state law! (From the Texas Association of the Deaf Newsletter, Fall 2009) If requested by a tenant, a landlord must install a visual smoke detector that is capable of alerting a person with a hearing…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[73,87,24,1701,1245,56,879,1705,1704,1703,1700,17,1702],"class_list":["post-8208","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-73","tag-children","tag-deaf","tag-fire-alarm","tag-hearing-loss","tag-hoh","tag-safety","tag-sb-1715","tag-sephra-burks","tag-sephra-burks-bill","tag-state-law","tag-texas","tag-visual-smoke-alarm"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-28o","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6201,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/04\/17\/dallas-man-who-lost-wife-kids-in-fire-seeks-visual-smoke-alarms-for-deaf-tenants\/","url_meta":{"origin":8208,"position":0},"title":"Dallas man who lost wife, kids in fire seeks visual smoke alarms for deaf tenants","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"April 17, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Dallas man who lost wife, kids in fire seeks visual smoke alarms for deaf tenants April 16, 2009 By EMILY RAMSHAW \/ The Dallas Morning News eramshaw@dallasnews.com AUSTIN \u2013 When the raging late-night electrical fire broke out, Tyrus Burks, who is deaf, couldn't hear an alarm sound. 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