Property owners of apartments and other multi-family rental units have until Dec. 31 to install carbon monoxide alarms in ccunits to comply with a 2010 state law. The Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act required single-family homes with an attached garage or a fossil fuel source to install the alarms by July 1, 2011, but multi-unit property owners were given more time to come into compliance. Alarms are required in all units with attached garages or fossil fuel burning appliances.
Calfire has a list of approved carbon monoxide devices online at osfm.fire.ca.gov. Their guidelines suggest the monitors be installed inside each sleeping area. Hotels and motels with fossil fuel burning appliances and attached garages will have to install the carbon monoxide alarms by Jan. 1, 2016.
The law went into effect because carbon monoxide, which can be released from a variety of sources in homes, is colorless and odorless. The gas can cause sudden illness and death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list the common symptoms as headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. High levels of CO can cause loss of consciousness or death, especially in people who are sleeping or intoxicated, who may die before experiencing symptoms. About 400 people die each year from unintentional CO poisoning, with 20,000 emergency room visits related to it.
It is released by:
• Heaters
• Fireplaces
• Furnaces
• Some types of appliances and cooking devices
• Idling vehicles
The CDC website provides a variety of recommendations on how to avoid CO poisoning such as buying only gad equipment carrying the seal of a national testing agency such as the CSA group, avoiding the use of portable flameless chemical heaters that burn gas and venting gas appliances properly.
View more tips online at http://www.cdc.gov/co/faqs.htm
