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Restaurants, manufacturing facilities and assembly areas must have a smoke detection system.
Businesses with coffee pots and microwave ovens, shops with burning candles and just about any commercial place is not required to have a smoke detector.
That didn't stop Combined Community Services from having them installed, though.
CCS had three smoke detectors installed recently and, in conjunction with Kosciusko County Firefighters Association, will give them to clients.
Since last fall, fire departments throughout the county are offering the warning devices free. The association's goal is to have a smoke detector in every home.
So far, according to Warsaw's Fire Inspector Michael Wilson, the county has given away 4,000 detectors with batteries.
Door-to-door neighborhood canvassing will begin again in the spring.
Warsaw's building commissioner, Todd Slabaugh, is also getting into the detector business, reminding everyone who seeks a building permit they need a smoke detector in every bedroom.
"A lot of people don't realize a smoke detector is required for each bedroom and on each level of the house," Slabaugh said.
As part of the package for construction permits, applicants must read a paper regarding city code and sign it.
Smoke detectors can be installed on ceilings or walls. The best advice is to read and follow the manufacturer's recommendations, Slabaugh said.
Wilson explained that there is "dead space" in every room.
"The air doesn't flow through dead space," he said. "After a heavy fire, certain corners are left completely clean because of the dead space. If a smoke detector is installed there, it doesn't do anyone any good."
CCS' Darlene Redinger said they'll encourage clients to install the detectors, and the organization likes nothing better than to set an example.
"If we have smoke detectors here," she said, "people will be more likely to install them at home."
