Starting Monday, a new law will go into effect requiring carbon-monoxide detectors in nearly all New York homes, condominiums, dormitories and other residences.
“Amanda’s Law” — named after a western New York teenager who died of carbon-monoxide poisoning — will change the state building code to make detectors mandatory in any residence with an attached garage or appliance that produces carbon monoxide, such as gas- or wood-powered furnaces or hot-water tanks. Previously, the devices were only required in homes built after 2002.
The law does not require detectors in houses that have only combustion-free appliances, like an electric furnace or stove. Residences built after 2008 must have a permanent detector hard-wired in.
“We believe this is an important piece of public-safety legislation. Unfortunately, far too many New Yorkers are accidentally poisoned by carbon monoxide each year,” said Paul Martin, chief of the state Bureau of Fire Prevention. “It’s much more prevalent than most people know.”
The device must be installed on the lowest level of the house with a bedroom, according to the law.
Local governments rather than the state will handle enforcement. Code-enforcement officials can issue a fine or an appearance ticket if a home is found without a detector during normal inspections.
Violators would be fined for breaking a municipality’s building code. Fines vary by location. The city of Poughkeepsie, for example, may issue a fine up to $1,000 while the village of Cayuga, Cayuga County, may issue a fine up to $500.
Carbon monoxide is a clear, odorless gas that is produced any time there is combustion. Dangerous levels of the gas can build up when appliances are not properly ventilated. Poisoning from the gas kills about 400 people and injures over 20,000 each year nationally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The detectors start around $20 and sound an alarm when unsafe carbon-monoxide levels are detected. Most devices plug into an electric outlet and allow for a battery backup if the power supply goes out. Higher-end detectors cost upwards of $65 and display the actual parts per million of the gas in the air.
The law is named after 16-year-old Amanda Hansen, who was killed by carbon-monoxide poisoning in January 2009 while sleeping at a friend’s house in West Seneca, Erie County.
You are dude! The government is not responsible.
The darn thing costs 50 bucks, so buy it if you want it, don’t if you want to die.
Your life is yours, the govt. should not protect us from ourselves.
I can’t wait to see the bureaucrats knocking on your door with a search warrant coming to inspect your house…
OH yeah….
So does that mean my landlord needs to install a detector?
Where can you buy a GOOD battery-operated device? I don’t have an electrical outlet in my bedroom hallway or near my boiler closet.
Why are they ignoring our security in CH and starting weird campaigns, soon they will give reword’s for this free tickets to Yishvoos for 11 Nison
will management be required to put in these detectors for us?
The government should stay out of peoples houses.
great to hear, we had a carbon monoxide scare this year.