I don't think it's silly at all-- no elderly person is going to want to risk busting their ass on a ladder, and way too many of them don't have family or friends left to help them out. Hell, I'm 26 and I don't have anyone in the area that I could call in that situation. Hooray for being a loner.

Maybe it's different in JC, but when I lived in Eatontown the management company actually PREFERRED to change batteries out for people-- probably didn't want someone trying to sue them for falling off a ladder while trying to reach the stupid high ceiling. It might not hold up in court, but hiring a lawyer just to get the suit dismissed costs WAY MORE than some maintenance dude spending 15 minutes swapping out a battery.

I have to agree, this is just silly. Does she have no family, friends or someone who could do it for her? I'll go to Costco and buy enough batteries to last 5 years. I could see if the smoke-detector was broke, but this is just a joke.

The newly renovated apartment that I just moved into two months ago has the connected kind as well. There are two problems with mine: 1) They are so sensitive that I have to turn them off by the circuit breaker every time I cook and 2) they don't have a battery backup so I installed a normal $15 one. Does four smoke alarms sound a little excessive for a 440 sq/ft apartment?

Some wired ones have battery backups so the beeping is letting you know that the batteries are dying and need replacing.

Quote:

We used to live on 8th st. and they had these in the hallways... for about a month while we lived there some kind of electrical problem made them all chirp every 30 seconds... drove me crazy.

Mark.

It is a dumb article, but what is wrong with that landlord?

Come' on, just change the damn batteries for the tenants once a year and be thankful the city & the state haven't yet made you put in sprinklers or at the least hardwired smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (with battery backup), that are also interconnected (so when any one alarm is triggered by smoke or heat, all interconnected alarms within the building sound an immediate warning) -- Now that stuff can cost some money to put into older buildings!

Really what is changing the batteries once a year for tenants ( A good time to do it is when the clocks change for fall -- Like right Now!) Look at it this way - it is a good chance to get in and see what is going on in your units.

Under Obama's new plan he will create 150,000 new jobs in the U.S, establishing the Battery Installers of Smoke and CO Alarms Department ( BISCAD)

Is this article a joke. The management company/landord isn't repsonsible for installing alarms in any state. This is just another pathetic "landlord is evil" story.

she added: "When something has to be done in my apartment, I want it done, because I'm paying rent."

Is she paying rent is or is it the taxpayer paying her rent?

The reason landlords aren't reponsible is because there is no way they can monitor alarms. Its much easier for the tenant not only to test but also replace batteries.

I can't tell you how many times tenants either take the batteries out for their remote control or because it beeps.

It's a shame she can't do it herself but a neighbor,friend or relative should help but don't blame it on the landlord or management company its not their reponsibility.

Jersey Journal reporter your a spaz if you can't replace a battery, who changes your light bulbs?

An 'alarm'-ing problem
by The Jersey Journal
Saturday November 01, 2008, 5:00 AM

After weeks of trying to get someone to replace her smoke detector's battery, Greenville senior Notra Porter turned to The Jersey Journal.

Her landlord at the Wade Manor Apartments would not help, said Porter, 64, and calls to the Mayor's Action Bureau and other local officials went unheeded.

Meanwhile, the detector attached to her entryway's ceiling kept emitting beeps at a steady rate, driving her up the wall.

Porter wasn't surprised that the building's managers told her it was her responsibility to replace the battery, even though she couldn't reach the detector and didn't feel safe climbing a ladder.

"I think they're mad at me because I took them to court," she said, explaining that she had sought legal remedies for previous complaints about security, a leaky roof and elevators that didn't work.

Find out what happened to Porter in today's Jersey Journal.

===========================

Jersey Journal to rescue when call for help is ignored

by Paul Koepp
Friday October 31, 2008, 7:36 PM



When all Porter's calls went unheeded, the Journal took action.

After weeks of trying to get someone to replace her smoke detector's battery, Greenville senior Notra Porter turned to The Jersey Journal.

Her landlord at the Wade Manor Apartments would not help, said Porter, 64, and calls to the Mayor's Action Bureau and other local officials went unheeded.

Meanwhile, the detector attached to her entryway's ceiling kept emitting beeps at a steady rate, driving her up the wall.

Porter wasn't surprised that the building's managers told her it was her responsibility to replace the battery, even though she couldn't reach the detector and didn't feel safe climbing a ladder.

"I think they're mad at me because I took them to court," she said, explaining that she had sought legal remedies for previous complaints about security, a leaky roof and elevators that didn't work.

Still, she added: "When something has to be done in my apartment, I want it done, because I'm paying rent."

The detector's cover proved too resistant for a Journal reporter, but fortunately, an inspector for a private company was checking the alarms in the building's hallways and stopped in to help out.

Thanks to a 9-volt battery supplied by the Journal, the problem was finally resolved -- moments before a fire engine, summoned by a phone call to Fire Director Armando Roman, pulled up with sirens blaring.

Roman said the Fire Department would not ordinarily take such a measure, since building owners are legally required to maintain smoke detectors, but that he would make an exception to ensure the safety of a senior citizen.
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