HARRISBURG – The PA General Assembly has sent to the governor Senate Bill 563 to improve safety in state-regulated child care facilities, a measure introduced in response to a tragic fire that claimed the lives of five young children in Erie in 2019. Bill sponsor, Erie County Sen. Dan Laughlin said what made this horrific incident even more tragic was the fact that these young lives may have been saved if the home had been properly equipped with smoke detectors. Only one smoke detector was found in the home and it was in the attic. The bill amends the state Fire and Panic Act to designate the locations where smoke alarms must be installed in child care facilities and require the alarms be interconnected so that if one is triggered, they all go off.
SEN. DAN LAUGHLIN