From the newsroom of the Home News Tribune, East Brunswick, New Jersey, Friday, July 15, 2005 .....

SOUTH BRUNSWICK FAMILY WAITED THREE YEARS

Smoke detectors for deaf installed in home

By KEN SERRANO
STAFF WRITER

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — A deaf couple with three small children who waited three years to get smoke detectors for the hearing-impaired installed in their apartment received the devices yesterday, officials said.

Deputy Fire Marshal Michael Whalen said the company managing Deans Apartments where the family lives, Lower County Property Management, had the detectors installed yesterday. The special detectors use strobe lights and high-decibel alarms to alert the hearing-impaired.

The couple, Veronica and Richard Sonnenberg, will also be getting a doorbell for the hearing-impaired, officials said.

The Sonnenbergs could not be reached last night. They have three children, twins, 2-year-old Roxy and Richard Jr., and a 3-year-old girl, Mindy.

The Sonnenbergs on Wednesday said they have requested the smoke detectors a half-dozen times since arriving in August 2002. Staff at Lower County said they only learned of the request Wednesday, the day the South Brunswick Fire Marshal's office ordered the company to install the smoke detectors for the hearing-impaired.

Officials in South Brunswick learned of the situation Tuesday night when the Sonnenbergs went to a Township Council meeting with a friend to complain.

The federally subsidized complex lies off Black Horse Lane.

Copyright © 2005 Home News Tribune Online. All rights reserved.

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