Our firm does a alot of smoke alarm/detector work. Generally failure of the landlord or his agent to provide the require operable smoke alarm is a civil issue. However, there could be grounds to file criminal charges based upon the specific state statues regarding negligence causing a death.

In the most simplest of terms, you must provide a smoke alarm was required by the local ordinaces/codes, was not provided and the death is directly related to the lack of the required device.

While you local ordinance may place responsiblity on the landlord/owner, the provisions of NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm Code also clearly establish the the property owner or his designated agent is responsible for properly maintaining the required devices.

Hope this helps

James G. Munger, PhD, FIFireE, CFPS
www.qdotengineering.com
W3NFA