California Senate approves Dodd’s garage door safety bill motivated by October fires

State senators unanimously approved legislation Thursday requiring new garage door motors to be equipped with backup batteries, hoping to prevent a problem experienced by many survivors and at least some victims of the October wildfires from occurring in future disasters.

The bill from state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, applies to garage door motors sold or installed in the state. Dodd had difficulty getting his own garage door open while the Atlas fire threatened his Silverado neighborhood nearly eight months ago, and many other Northern California residents experienced similar problems, as The Press Democrat reported in December.

Seniors in particular can struggle to open garage doors after the power goes out, even though electronic doors can be opened manually in such situations.

Dodd’s bill now heads to the Assembly for consideration. It is co-authored by Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters.

You can reach Staff Writer J.D. Morris at 707-521-5337 or jd.morris@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @thejdmorris.