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Smoke Alarm

Top-Rated Personal Injury Lawyer Columbia Maryland

Death by Fire | Missing Smoke Alarm | Defective Smoke Alarm | Death in Fire | Fire Injury Claims | Smoke Detector Missing | Fire Smoke Detector | Fire Injury | Landlord’s Failure to Install Smoke Detector

A death by fire caused by a missing smoke alarm (smoke detector) is not only tragic but avoidable and a violation of the law. Smoke detectors are an easy and inexpensive, and often free, way to prevent fire deaths from the lack of smoke detectors. According to the Baltimore City Health Department, fire deaths and burns are major causes of unintentional deaths in Baltimore. Death by fire in Baltimore is three times the rate as the U. S. average. Death by fire is preventable. Having a working smoke alarm (smoke detector) on every floor of your home can double your chance of surviving a fire.

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How to Avoid Death by Fire With a Smoke Alarm (Smoke Detector)

The Baltimore Health Department recommends some simple rules that can help avoid death by fire:

  • Make sure you have working smoke detectors on every floor of your home
  • The Baltimore Fire Department will not only provide a free smoke detector, but they will also install it for you. Call the Baltimore Fire Department to request free smoke alarms for your home: https://fire.baltimorecity.gov/fire-prevention/smoke-alarms.
  • Test your smoke alarms once a month
  • Make sure you change the batteries twice a year during Day Lights Savings
  • Create and practice a fire escape plan with your family
  • Only smoke outdoors and always extinguish smoking materials in large deep ashtrays that are on a sturdy surface (like a table)
  • Keep matches, lighters, and ashtrays out of the reach of children
  • Never leave a stove unattended while cooking. Keep potholders, curtains, etc. at least 3 feet away from burners
  • Use space heaters in well-ventilated areas and at least 3 feet away from anything that could burn
  • Use flameless candles or make sure an adult is present at all times around lit candles
  • Remember to double-check that you’ve turned off all stove burners, ovens, space heaters, and candles when you leave a room or go to bed
  • If the smoke alarm sounds, GET OUT AND STAY OUT

The Law Requires Landlords to Install Smoke Alarm

Both Maryland state law, and the Baltimore City Code, require landlords to install and maintain smoke alarms (smoke detectors) in rented properties. The law requires this for the health and safety of tenants. Know your rights! If you are renting, and there aren’t smoke detectors in your property, demand that your landlord installs them immediately!

Top-Rated Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer

If your loved one has died in a fire that could have been prevented with a fire smoke detector or smoke alarm, you may have a claim for the funeral expenses; medical bills; lost income; and the grief from losing the person you loved.

Jonathan Scott Smith is a top-rated wrongful death lawyer, with over 40 years of courtroom experience. He has successfully handled wrongful death cases, including death by fire caused by a missing smoke alarm (smoke detector) resulting in million-dollar awards. He fights hard for his clients.

Mr. Smith’s extensive trial experience — and track record of successful results in wrongful death and other cases — has earned him the recognition of his peers. He has been designated a “Maryland Super Lawyer,” and previously selected as one of the Top 100 in Maryland. He has received the prestigious and highest peer rating for legal ability and professional ethics, “AV Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubbell. This is the oldest and most widely recognized lawyer rating directory in the legal profession. Mr. Smith has received this rating every year since 1988.

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If a fire has caused injuries to, or the death of, a family member, you need an experienced personal injury attorney and wrongful death lawyer. Jonathan Scott Smith will help guide you through this tragedy, and help you obtain justice and closure. Call (410) 441-5054 now, or contact us online, to schedule a consultation.

    "I just wanted to express my deep appreciation for the representation that you and your staff provided for me."

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    "Gratitude just doesn’t seem to express the depth of what I feel. I’ve felt like a baby bird that had been hurled from its nest in the midst of a hurricane."

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    "After all is said and done, we feel truly blessed to have found such an experienced, knowledgeable and caring attorney to entrust our welfare to."

    - B. A. J.

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