Newly built homes or existing homes being sold in the state beginning March 6 will need to have at least one functioning carbon monoxide alarm. The Buffalo News reported that the New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code Council put the regulations into effect more quickly than planned due to the at least 11 people in the state who died from accidental carbon monoxide poisonings since last October.
The new regulations apply to one- and two-family homes and condos. Once the regulations take effect, people who have new homes built will need to have a detector installed before they are issued a certificate of occupancy. And home sellers will have to sign an affidavit stating that the house has a working detector.
The regulations do not affect existing homes that are not being sold. But supporters of the law recommend all homeowners install carbon monoxide alarms to protect themselves.
The newspaper reported that First Alert is providing 300 carbon monoxide detectors to low-income residents. And the city is using a $15,000 grant from the International Association of Black Firefighters to buy an additional 1,600 alarms and smoke detectors.
Industry research shows that less than 30 percent of U.S. homes currently have carbon monoxide alarms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that carbon monoxide causes more fatal accidental poisonings that any other agent in the United States. Most of those incidents occur in the winter.
Other Recent News
May 22, 2012
Eaton Corp., a diversified industrial manufacturer, announced this week it has agreed to purchase Cooper Industries for $11.8 billion.
May 15, 2012
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has launched a recruitment campaign to increase the number of code enforcers participating on its technical committees.
April 24, 2012
The Board of Trustees here approved a false fire alarm ordinance that will require repeat offenders to pay $750 for each false alarm.
April 10, 2012
The Security Industry Association (SIA), in conjunction with several other groups, is supporting bipartisan legislation reintroduced by Congressman Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and Congressman Charlie Bass (R-N.H.) to increase the use of life-saving residential carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.
March 22, 2012
The National Training Center (NTC) has completed the transition to computer-based testing (CBT) for NICET Fire Alarm exams.