In the wake of a North Charleston fire that killed two children this week, State Rep. Chip Limehouse plans to push legislation requiring that older mobile homes sold in South Carolina be equipped with two working smoke detectors.

The Charleston Republican said he began work on the measure after two children died in a Columbia mobile home fire earlier this year. Monday's fire on Lakewood Street, in which an infant and a toddler died, only hardened his resolve to file the bill, he said.

"We have to do better as a society," Limehouse said. "We can't allow these trailers to burn up and take children with them."

Limehouse said the measure would apply to mobile homes built in 1985 or before. A form would have to be signed at the time of sale verifying that the home has at least two functioning smoke detectors, he said.

"This will be a low-cost, low-regulation way to increase fire safety," he said.

Mark Dillard, executive director of the Manufactured Housing Institute of South Carolina, said his organization will support the legislation, which correctly focuses on older homes. "The older mobile homes of the past were built before the advent of strict national construction standards," he said.

North Charleston fire officials are still investigating the Lakewood Street blaze and have not released a possible cause. The mother of the children who died said the home was equipped with a smoke detector but she never heard it go off.

Bianca Sancic, the Fire Department's public information officer, applauded Limehouse's proposal. Smoke detectors are only designed to last 10 years and their importance can not be overstated, she said. In a fire, people have about a minute to escape their homes once a smoke alarm sounds. "Smoke alarms are really the last line of defense," she said.

Reach Glenn Smith at 937-5556 or gsmith@postandcourier.com.