Smoke Alarm Warning | Averyana's Law | Fire Victims Fight for Photoelectric Smoke Alarm Legislation

The World Fire Safety Foundation thanks:

Valerie Rivett & Natalie Dale

advocating for - Averyana's Law

for helping spread this life-saving message

see custom report below

"I am not able to hug and

kiss my daughter everyday
or talk to my best friend
because of the lies and
greed of these smoke

alarm companies.
Our lives have been torn

apart and our hearts are
beyond broken."

Natalie Traver with her Princesses
Averyana and Gia | December, 2011

Child's Death in
Auburn House Fire
Leads to Averyana's Law

ABC News Channel 9 Story - Auburn, New York, USA | 31 July, 2013

"In January 2009 we passed a law mandating photoelectric-only smoke alarms in all new homes in Vermont. Chances are Averyana would be alive today if the public had been told the truth. Legal precedence and scientific test data prove the ionization smoke alarms in almost every American home are defective."

Retired Vermont firefighter Russell Ashe with Natalie Traver at Averyana's grave.
Auburn, New York, July, 2013

Rachel Harris-Curione (38) and
Averyana (2), her goddaughter

Natalie with her best friend Rachel | May, 2011

CBS5 Consumer Watch

Common Smoke Alarms Fail to Alarm

N O T E:
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"The ionization alarm should be banned - it should be recalled. It should be taken off the market immediately. It gives an individual a false sense of security - thinking they're being protected when they're not."

Marc McGinn, Retired Fire Chief, Albany

California, USA Oct, 2012

Woman, Toddler Killed in Auburn Fire

Loni Silverberg, a neighbor
and family friend said
"Averyana was just full of life.
She was a beautiful girl."

Averyana's Law - New York's Proposed Photoelectric Legislation

An extract from the proposed, New York legislation, 'Averyana's Law'

"Averyana Dale most likely lost her life because the ionization smoke detector that was present in the home she was in did not alert her to the fire until it was too late.
If a photoelectric detector had been in the home, it is considerably more likely she would have been alerted to the smoke sooner and would have made it out safely."

"The public must be told the truth.
Ionization smoke alarms aren't safe.
They should be banned and recalled
before more innocent children are killed."

Valerie Rivett, photoelectric smoke alarm
advocate, Auburn, New York July, 2013

Rachel Harris-Curione's

home - hours after the fire

New York Attorney Jim Hacker, from the Deadly Delay

TV series | Jan, 2008

HACKERT v FIRST ALERT, INC:

When overturning appeal, in New York's landmark case, US Federal Court Judges stated:

“Our review of the record reveals sufficient evidence to support the jury’s determinations
1. that the smoke detector was defectively designed under New York law,

2. that Defendants-Appellants were negligent with respect to the smoke detector,

3. that the smoke detector’s failure was a legal cause of the deaths of William and
Christine Hackert; and

4. that an award of punitive damages was appropriate.”

Sheila Hackert's husband and daughter died in a house fire in Rotterdam, New York in May 2001. The house was fitted with ionization smoke alarms. Rotterdam is 2.5 hours drive from Auburn, where Averyana and Rachel died in March 2012.

Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Photoelectric Smoke Alarm Legislation

Massachusetts is on New York's eastern border. Its capital Boston has been actively promoting photoelectric smoke alarms for over a decade. As a direct result of Chief Jay Fleming's work, Boston has set a global benchmark for protecting its citizens with the lowest residential fire death rate of any American city.
Chief Fleming, a world expert on smoke alarms says,

"If we switch to photoelectric technology
. . . we could reduce fire deaths in this
country by a third and that would account
to about a thousand people."

ACTIVELY Promoting Photoelectric Smoke
Alarms Saves Lives

Boaston Fire Department's Chief Jay Fleming

Boston Fire Department's Chief Jay Fleming

Vermont firefighter Russell Ashe in Australia meeting with Chris Gulaptis MP

Mr Chris Gulaptis Australian MP, with Vermont Fire Captian Russell Ashe discussing testing standards for ionization smoke alarms.

Hear the ABC radio interview below

U.S. Firefighter Meets

Australian Parliamentarian

Averyana's Law, UTC & Australia

United Technologies Corporation (UTC) is one of the world's largest ionization smoke alarm manufacturers. UTC ionization alarms were in the home where Averyana and her godmother Rachel died. UTC continue to fail to disclose vital information about their smoke alarms. The 'Ionization Smoke Alarms are DEADLY' article published in the Australian Volunteer Fire Fighter Association's magazine below gives insight into why Averyana's Law could help bring about a ban and recall of ionization smoke alarms.

US Firefighter Meets Australian Politician

Captain Russell Ashe is a US firefighter, author and a member of UL217 - the committee that oversees America's smoke alarm standard. He visited Australia in May, 2011 to meet with an Australian politician to discuss the flawed US and Australian smoke alarm standards.

ABC Radio Interview - Why did a U.S. Firefighter Meet with an Australian Politician?

On March 11, 2012 Averyana Dale (2) and her godmother, Rachel Harris-Curione (38) were killed in a house fire in Auburn, New York. The ABC channel 9 news clip, 'Woman, Toddler Killed in Auburn Fire' (see below) tells the tragic story.

Could Averyana's Death Have Been Prevented?

"The proof showed that sometimes the ionization detectors
wouldn't go off at all, and yet they continue to manufacture
them, continue to sell them, continue to stand by them."

Jim Hacker, Hacker Murphy LLP , Albany New York , USA

from the 'Deadly Delay' investigative TV series. August, 2007 ~ Jan, 2008

Averyana's Aunt Investigates

When Averyana's Aunt, Valerie Rivett (see below) visited the scene of the fire the following morning she was stunned to find there was no fire damage. Despite brand new, hard-wired smoke alarms, Averyana and Rachel had died from smoke inhalation.

Valerie Rivett has eight children. She thought if smoke alarms were as safe as she'd been led to believe why had she just lost her niece and her sister's best friend? She decided to investigate. After speaking with the Deputy Chief of the Boston Fire Department (see below) she learned there are two completely different types of smoke alarm technology, ionization and photoelectric. She found out most homes are fitted with ionization alarms and the truth about their life-threatening defects has been withheld from the public and firefighters for decades.

Averyana's Law

Valerie decided to take up the cause to fight for the proven photoelectric smoke alarms. She is currently working with Senator Nozollio and US and Australian campaigners to help with the introduction of New York's photoelectric smoke alarm legislation.

Valerie Rivett

Averyana's Aunt

Auburn, New York

Valerie Rivett - working with Senator Nozollio to help make New Yorkers safer with Averyana's Law

Averyana Dale

Nov, 2009 ~ Mar, 2012

Averyana died in a house fire in Auburn, New York in March, 2012. She was 'protected' by hard-wired, ionization smoke alarms, the type found in most homes.