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.

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