JULY 1 ** Deadline ** to install CO detectors -- key phrases: garage or fossil fuel source

[2Bwacco]

Carbon monoxide detectors are now mandatory




New law regarding home detectors takes effect on July 1 of 2011

by Laura McCutcheon
Staff Writer
[email protected]

Published: Monday, June 13, 2011 3:47 PM PDT
Homeowners have a few weeks left to install carbon monoxide detectors in their residences, which will be required by law as of July 1.

“Carbon monoxide is a silent killer, each year claiming the lives of an average of 480 people, and sending more than 20,000 people to emergency rooms across the nation,” Acting State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover said in a CAL FIRE press release.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that is produced from heaters, fireplaces, furnaces and many types of appliances and cooking devices. The best way for homeowners to stay protected from CO is to have a carbon monoxide detector installed on every floor and outside each sleeping area, states the press release, which also notes that only about one in 10 California homes currently have carbon monoxide detectors installed.

If an appliance is not functioning correctly it could create a condition where the carbon monoxide gas – instead of being exhausted to the exterior of the building or the home – is not allowed to escape the building, Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services Fire Marshall Robert MacIntyre said. “What will happen in these more energy efficient buildings that are more tightly constructed to conserve energy, if the carbon monoxide gas is not allowed to escape the building, then that gas can build up to levels that can cause death,” he said, noting this type of scenario typically happens at night when people are sleeping. Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause fatigue and a headache upon waking, that goes away after getting out of the house and getting some fresh air, MacIntyre said. “But if you stay in that condition over a long period of time, you could go to sleep and never wake up.”


Exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide can cause shortness of breath, mild nausea and mild headaches. Symptoms of exposure to moderate levels of CO include severe headaches, dizziness, nausea, faintness and mental confusion, according to CAL FIRE.

People who suspect CO poisoning should get fresh air immediately – and get to an emergency room. “Don’t ignore symptoms, particularly if more than one person is feeling them. You could lose consciousness and die if you do nothing,” states CAL FIRE.

Though previous laws only required newly constructed homes to have CO alarms, the state’s new Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act (Senate Bill 183) requires owners of all existing single-family homes with an attached garage or a fossil fuel source to install CO alarm devices within the home by July 1, 2011, according to CAL FIRE. Owners of multi-family leased or rental dwellings, such as apartment buildings, have until Jan. 1, 2013 to comply with the law.

“This regulation has been a long time coming,” MacIntyre said. “I recommend people put one in regardless of the requirements,” he said, noting he has had one in his house for years.

Sebastopol Fire Chief John Zanzi thinks it’s a great law. “We don’t have a lot of experience with (carbon monoxide poisoning) but it does happen a lot throughout the country where people are shut up in homes during the winter and an old gas burning appliance has a problem and fills the home with carbon monoxide,” Zanzi said.

Sebastopol Fire Department responds to several calls a year regarding carbon monoxide issues, most of which are discovered by people who have carbon monoxide detectors, Zanzi said. However, he hasn’t seen any serious injuries or deaths in Sebastopol associated with carbon monoxide poisoning, he said.

For more information on how to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning visit the CAL FIRE website at www.fire.ca.gov.

[daynurse]

It is about time. In January of 2000, a carbon monoxide detector I had installed 30 minutes prior alarmed and I discovered that I had been exposed to low level carbon monoxide for the preceding 8 years. Unknown to me, my landlord had installed a used heater that had been in the backyard for years.

During those 8 years of exposure, I acquired a brain injury (from the replacement of oxygen by carbon monoxide in brain cells), asthma, a heart arrhythmia (co replacing O2 in my heart), and muscle pain, and many more problems. It took 8 years from that date to recover enough mental agility to simply follow a recipe in my kitchen.

I lost my career as a high level emergency nurse and the medical care has left me in poverty. However, I discovered the right side of my brain during my recovery and have become a videographer. I'd never wish for the pain and suffering my family endured during my recovery but the process of recovery has changed my life.

People who have known me for a long time have had to get used to the fact that I have learned not to let the opportunity pass by to speak up about injustice and inhumane situations.

But, you don't need to follow that path to make social change. Please get a detector and get out of the house(!) and call the fire department if it alarms.
Peggy Day

Carbon monoxide detectors are now mandatory
New law regarding home detectors takes effect on July 1 of 2011

by Laura McCutcheon
Staff Writer
[email protected]

Published: Monday, June 13, 2011 3:47 PM PDT
Homeowners have a few weeks left to install carbon monoxide detectors in their residences, which will be required by law as of July 1......

.....For more information on how to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning visit the CAL FIRE website at www.fire.ca.gov.