Ottawa’s fire department is offering smoke detectors for free. If you contact the department, someone will install a fully legal detector in your home. Fire Chief Brian Bressner says it’s sealed so you can’t take the battery out during its ten-year lifespan. That prevents the problem of people letting the alkaline batteries die or taking them out for other uses. A state law that took effect on January 1 requires any newly installed detector to be that kind.
Other fire departments have similar programs.