From: spike66 (spike66@attbi.com)
Date: Thu Sep 05 2002 - 22:14:12 MDT
Currently building codes require smoke detectors to be
installed in new homes, one in each bedroom and in some
hallways, always on the ceiling. Its the law.
Last night one of my smoke detector batteries ran low
and the infernal device started chirping. It occurred to me
that these blasted contraptions introduce more risk than they
alleviate. Reasoning: one must get up on a ladder to change
the damn battery, usually while groggy from interrupted sleep,
not to mention being extremely pissed, and this causes the
unfortunate prole to risk falling off and breaking major limbs.
This risk is elevated if said prole is drunk, clumsy, elderly, or
stupid. Fortunately I am none of the above (by most people's
estimate) but still.
If one has no ladder (the typical apartment dweller wouldn't)
then he must stand on a chair or other shaky contraption,
compounding the risk. If one is short, she may need to
stack books on the chair, adding still more risk.
I now suspect that smoke detectors save less than half
as many lives as are lost due to yahoos damaging themselves
trying to change the batteries, and this doesnt even count
minor injuries. And what about geezers who fall and break
something but perish only much later, as an indirect result
of the smoke detector accident? How would that be classified?
How would I get data on how many emergency room visits
are thus caused? Medics? Rafal, aren't you a doctor? How
now? spike
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