Lithium Battery Smoke Detectors Available: New smoke...

Lithium Battery Smoke Detectors Available: New smoke detectors powered by lithium batteries that can last up to 10 years are now being sold, the government’s consumer safety chief said Tuesday. The new devices eliminate the need to change batteries every year--which many people forget to do--and could save lives, said Ann Brown, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Several of the new models sell for between $15 and $30. About 4,000 people die each year in residential home fires. A recent survey found that although 90% of homes had smoke detectors, about a third of the detectors did not work because the batteries were dead or missing.