HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	126
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

SUPPORTING THE INSTALLATION AND USE OF Smoke detectors in every hawaii home by 2010.

     WHEREAS, fire safety in the State and the safety of its citizens are of great concern to every legislator, public servant, and first responder; and

     WHEREAS, after prevention, smoke detectors are the first line of defense against fire and can cut the risk of death in a home fire nearly in half; and

     WHEREAS, in recent years, approximately three-fifths of home fire deaths occurred in homes without smoke detectors; and

     WHEREAS, in 2006, a total of 2,580 people died in 412,500 home fires that resulted in more than $11,000,000,000 in property damage; and

     WHEREAS, the Honolulu Fire Department, the sixteenth largest fire department in the nation, responds to over ten thousand fires annually; and

     WHEREAS, with a home fire occurring in this country every eighty-six seconds, the diligence, determination, and devotion of Hawaii's firefighters can be augmented by a smoke detector in every Hawaii home; and

     WHEREAS, inexpensive household smoke detectors can mean the difference between life and death by sounding an early warning in the event of a fire and waking people before they are overcome by smoke and other poisonous gases; and

     WHEREAS, most low-income families in Hawaii cannot afford home smoke detectors; and

     WHEREAS, low-income families are defined as families qualifying for the State's general assistance program or the federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children program; and

     WHEREAS, low-income families in Hawaii deserve the protection that smoke detectors can provide; and

     WHEREAS, in states that observe daylight savings time the day used to convert to daylight savings time is also used to check smoke detector batteries and insure the safe operation of smoke detectors; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, that the Legislature supports the installation and use of smoke detectors in every Hawaii home by 2010; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that fire departments throughout Hawaii are urged to designate April 15 as the day to remind Hawaii's residents to check the batteries in their smoke detectors and to make sure they operate effectively; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Fire Chiefs Association and Hawaii State Fire Council are requested to investigate the possibility of donating and distributing smoke detectors to low-income families; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that local fire departments are requested to consider implementation of a program to provide free smoke detectors in exchange for a free on-site fire safety inspection of low-income family homes; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Public Housing Authority is requested to consider installing smoke detectors in all public housing projects in Hawaii and requiring a working smoke detector as a requirement of residency; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to all county fire chiefs, the Chair of the State Fire Council, and the Chairperson of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Smoke Detectors for Low-income Families in Hawaii