Fire victim's apartment had smoke detector

Jackson firefighters have one final question in the death of a Jackson woman, and it may never be answered.

The body of Iva L. Bangert, 82, was found Monday at her apartment, where she apparently died from a small fire caused by a cigarette.

Bangert's apartment had a smoke detector, according to Jackson fire chief Jason Mouser.

The fire alarm sounded when investigators tested it, Mouser said. He said it is unknown whether nieghbors didn't hear the alarm sounding when the fire occurred, or if it didn't sound at all.

State fire marshal Randy Cole said the state has no building or fire code requiring smoke detectors, but many cities have devised their own.

"Our building code requires smoke detectors in every bedroom and also one outside of the room, in the area of the bedrooms -- in a hallway -- and one on each level of the building, including the basement," said Janet Sanders, Jackson's building and planning superintendent.

New buildings must have all smoke detectors interconnected, she said.

According to Sanders, Bangert's building was much older than the city's current building code.

"We know there are people who disabled their [smoke detectors]," she said, because the sensitive alarms sound from dishwasher steam or even a wisp of toaster smoke.

While it's good to have a detector near the kitchen, Sanders said, "the optimal place is in your bedrooms and just outside your bedrooms."

She said this weekend is a good time to check smoke detector batteries when updating clocks to reflect the time change.

Nationally, cigarettes are the second most common cause of fire deaths, second only to arson.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

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Pertinent addresses

911 Kimbel Lane, Jackson, MO

525 S. Hope St., Jackson, MO

2401 E. McCarty, Jefferson City, MO