Proposal named after senator who perished in house fire last year

By Mike Ward
Austin American-Statesman
 
AUSTIN — Their voices straining with emotion as they recalled the recent fire deaths of former state Sen. Frank Madla and two relatives, a group of Texas legislators today launched a campaign to mandate carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in many Texas homes beginning in 2008.

Helen Madla, who survived the Thanksgiving-weekend 2006 tragedy with serious injuries, appeared at a Capitol news conference to endorse the proposal, entitled the Frank Madla Act.

"We always think it's not going to happen to us . . . but it does. It can," Helen Madla told reporters.

Full Story: Lawmakers propose making smoke, carbon monoxide detectors mandatory