Wenatchee Fire Chief Applies For Smoke Detector Grants

This week I attended a North Central Home Builders Association dinner in Wenatchee, Washington. One of the speakers was Mark Yaple, the Assistant Fire Chief for the City of Wenatchee. He talked about the number one problem that causes a total loss in a house fire– a faulty or absent smoke detector. Since 1995 building code has required homes to have hardwired smoke detector alarms with battery backup. Yaple is concerned about the homes built before 1995. He has taken it upon himself to provide smoke detectors to any home in the city of Wenatchee that needs one.

State Farm Insurance gave him a $5,000 grant to purchase battery operated smoke detectors. With the help of a Red Cross volunteer and driving his fire truck he went door to door inspecting smoke detectors and installing new ones where needed. He advertised his free service to the public and received many calls from elderly people that were not able to deal with the problem themselves. His goal is to receive more money and continue his good work. He has applied for more grants from State Farm and the Federal Government and hopes to receive up to $27,000 to purchase detectors. Obviously, new construction homes are not entitled to his program because they would not meet the code adopted in 1995. If you would like to volunteer with Yaple to install smoke detectors contact him at the City of Wenatchee. He could use our help!

Home Warranties: Piece of Mind or Worth Every Dollar?

I inspected a house last week for the purpose of a home warranty. It was a new construction with a 1-year warranty that would soon expire. The owner wanted us to make sure everything was still in good shape and operating in favorable condition. The owner’s home was in great condition and having AMS out to inspect the property gave him piece of mind that he had chosen a great contractor and property for his investment. Read my info below to see if you should consider home warranties during your next purchase.


Many new construction homes come with a 1-year builder warranty. Before signing the closing documents read the warranty in its entirety. Make sure you understand what is covered, for how long and by whom…the builder or a third-party? Read the exclusions, liability and limitations carefully and ask questions. Just before your 1-year expiration, give us a call to inspect your home for any imperfections that would be covered under your warranty. It’s very important to watch your deadline and schedule a home warranty inspection. The best outcome would be one in which we don’t find anything wrong, but if we do you can talk with the builder and have them fix the problem without rolling out your own dollars.

For those purchasing any other home, existing home warranties are also available to the buyer. For about $350-600 the buyer can purchase coverage for 1 year. For example, you purchase a home and hire home inspector before closing. The report shows a few maintenance issues, but no red flags. After 4 months your dishwasher and clothes dryer both quit working. In your initial inspection report the appliances worked fine, but your inspector noted the increasing age of them. Here is a situation where a home warranty could definitely save you some money and the hassles of new home ownership. You call up the warranty provider and deal with the problem immediately. And remember, choose your warranty carefully and make certain that everything you want covered is in the contract. For more info about choosing a warranty, start here.