ALL New York Homes Must Have Carbon Monoxide Alarms as of February 22, 2010 A new state law, known as Amanda’s Law, was effective as of February 22, 2010, and requires all residences, both new and existing, to have carbon monoxide alarms installed.
The law is named for Amanda Hansen, 16, of West Seneca, New York, who was found unconscious at a friend's house in January 2009. Officials later determined she had been exposed to lethal levels of carbon monoxide in the home's basement, where she and her friend were having a sleepover. She later died at South Buffalo Mercy Hospital. A malfunctioning boiler in the home caused CO to build up causing her death.
The new law requires all homes to have a carbon monoxide detector installed to alert residents of the presence of carbon monoxide. Homes built before Jan. 1, 2008, will be permitted to have battery-powered alarms while homes built after that date will need to have the alarms hard-wired in. The gas is odorless and colorless and can cause flu-like symptoms. Without the detectors residents often do not realize their home is filling with CO. CO is the leading cause of poisoning deaths in the U.S. “Carbon monoxide alarms save lives,” said State Fire Administrator Floyd A. Madison, adding that carbon monoxide poisoning is the number one cause of poisoning deaths in the United States. “More than 2,100 people die from carbon monoxide poisoning every year and over 10,000 people are injured, including, on average, 100 New Yorkers.
Carbon monoxide can be produced when burning any fuel such as; gasoline, charcoal, propane, natural gas, kerosene, oil, wood, or coal. If any flammable or combustible material burns incompletely, carbon monoxide is produced. Carbon monoxide can kill in minutes or hours depending on the level of carbon monoxide in the air.
Detectors should be installed near bedrooms, common gathering areas and near appliances, such as stoves, furnaces and water heaters that may emit the monoxide.
Contact NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control for more information. A copy of their brochure can be downloaded by clicking here! |
