Dodd floats bill to require battery back-up for garage doors based on wildfire experience
"This devastating fire season exposed a number of vulnerabilities and underscored the need to take swift action to prevent people from becoming future disaster victims," Dodd said in a statement. "Policymakers have a duty to be proactive and adopt thoughtful policies making our communities safer. We can't stand idly by, and ensuring we have battery backups for garage doors is a small step that can literally save lives."
In the aftermath of the October wildfires that swept across the
Dodd said he is personally aware of the problems power outages can create.
"On the first night of the fires this October, I was forced to evacuate my house around midnight," he said. "That's not an ideal time to realize that your garage door motor isn't working because the neighborhood is out of power. I have a heavy wooden garage door, and if I didn't have someone to help me, I couldn't have opened it. One of my neighbors actually ended up driving through his garage door because he couldn't open his garage. This isn't a problem most people have thought of, and I hope this bill raises awareness and prompts people to consider adding a battery backup."
Battery backups are currently available for many models of existing garage door openers and are relatively inexpensive, Dodd's office staff said. There are also garage doors openers on the market with built-in battery backups. Dodd's bill, SB 969, would ensure that going forward, garage doors sold or installed in
"SB 969 is a common sense measure that ensures that residents, especially those that are elderly and disabled, can evacuate their homes safely in the event of a wildfire or other natural disaster,"
The bill is co-authored by Assemblymember
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