Subject: Residential smoke detectors laws and home fire safety in the 70's

Yes! You may not know this , but at least nine states in the 1970's mandated smoke detectors in ALL "new" residential home construction in the 70's. California and Michigan required them in 1974. (California effective Jan. 1, 1974, Michigan effective Nov. 1, 1974) and Massachusetts in 1975. (Effective on Jan. 1, 1975) Connecticut,(Effective Jan. 1, 1976 as a "option" under Connecticut state law, but mandatory on Oct. 1, 1976) New Jersey,(Effective Jan. 1, 1976) Rhode Island,(Effective June 1, 1976) and H.U.D (Housing and Urban Development) which requried them in 1976.(Effective June 15, 1976) Nevada and Ohio in 1978. (Nevada effective Dec. 1, 1978 and Ohio effective Apr. 1, 1978).
It is interesting that when these states required or mandated this "life-saving" device in new home "back than" serious injury or death by residential fires decreased "dramatically" and as such other states started to require them in "new" homes in the 1980's and throughout the 1990's.
Now "flash forward" 25 to 30 years later residential sprinkler systems in alot of states are now required or mandatory in "new" residential construction and saving lives and "property" has "advanced" to a new "standard", which is not really "new" since California (as a "local" ordianance) had started to "sprinklerize" homes since 1978 and Arizona as a state law since 1986.
I live here in Texas and smoke detectors became law effective Sept. 1, 1981 and now 29 years later (2010) residential sprinkler systems are now required! The amout of lives and "property" saved by this "life-saving" device is "price less" when you stop and think that everthing can or will be gone by a fire in under 5 minutes.This include human life as well.