Law Requires Carbon Monoxide Detectors in Homes by July 1

Beginnig July 1, carbon monoxide detectors will be required in most California single family houses.

SB183, the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010, which was passed and signed into law last year, requires “that a carbon monoxide device be installed in existing dwellings intended for human occupancy that have a fossil fuel burning appliance, fireplace, or an attached garage.”

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission describes carbon monoxide as "a deadly, colorless and odorless gas that is produced by the incomplete burning of various fuels."

According to a fact sheet about SB183 provided by its author, State Senator Alan Lowenthal (D- Long Beach), on his website, “the California Air Resources Board has determined that 30 to 40 'avoidable deaths' occur just in California each year, on average, due to unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning.” 

The fact sheet also made note that “In 2001 twenty-five percent of the carbon monoxide poisoning deaths from home-related products were adults 65 years and older.”

“Carbon monoxide is a silent killer,” said Massoud Araghi, Ventura County Fire Marshal in a statement this week. “You can’t see it or smell it, but at high levels, it can kill a person in just minutes.”

Araghi said people should know the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning even though detectors alert them to its presence.

“At moderate levels of carbon monoxide, the symptoms include severe headaches, dizziness, nausea, fainting and mental confusion. Many of these same symptoms are milder at lower levels of carbon monoxide,” he said.

While individual homeowners must install the CO detectors by July 1, owners of multi-family leased or rental dwellings have until January 1, 2013 to comply with the law.

CO detectors look like smoke detectors but do not serve as smoke detectors; Neither do smoke detectors serve as CO detectors. However, many dual products are available. The CPSC recommends that a detector be installed in the hallway outside each bedroom either on the ceiling or high on the wall. It does not recommend installing alarms in kitchens or above fuel-burning appliances and said consumers should follow manufacturers' installation directions.

For more information on the law and carbon monoxide detectors, contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.