Carbon monoxide detectors set to become law
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SEATTLE -- The view outside his West Seattle home has kept Steve Quant living there for 25 years. It was something he couldn't see, however, that almost took it all away.
"It's really, really, really loud. It scared the you-know-what out of me," Quant said, standing in his kitchen Wednesday. "It was crazy."
The beeping woke him up in the middle of the night; a dead sleep that became a moment that saved his life.
"It was 3, 4 o'clock in the morning, and just out of a hard sleep I was awoken by this ear-piercing scream," he said. "It is deafening."
The noise was coming from his mother's Christmas gift -- a "clunker" as he described it -- which he unwrapped, installed, and forgot about.
"Several months later in the middle of the night it started screaming," he said.
The high-pitched, high-decibel noise was coming from a carbon monoxide detector in his kitchen, which had detected dangerous levels of the odorless, colorless gas. Quant opened all the windows and doors to his home, and later discovered his furnace had malfunctioned, sending the poisonous gas into his home.
"It was clogged, so instead of coming out the chimney, it was actually being pumped right into the house," Quant said.
Starting next week, carbon monoxide detectors -- like the one Quant believes saved his life -- won't just be a luxury; they'll be the law. All apartments, condos, hotels and homes in Washington State are required to have them as of January 1, with the only exception being single-family residences, owner-occupied before July 26, 2009. (Those are not required to have CO alarms until they are sold, said state building officials.)
"It's serious. It will make someone very sick and it will lead to death. We want people to take this seriously," said Bill Mace, outreach and education coordinator for the Seattle Fire Department. "It's known as 'the silent killer' or 'the quiet killer' because it's odorless. You can't see it, smell it."
The state hopes to save lives and prevent what happened following devastating storms across the region in December 2006. Carbon monoxide poisoning killed eight people who were cooking inside or trying to stay warm during the storms.
The detectors -- which start around $20 -- can be purchased at hardware stores or online. The Seattle Fire Department has a limited number it will install for seniors, low-income families, or people with disabilities, Mace added.
Quant said he is so thankful for his detector that he bought others for family and friends.
"Everyone should put one in their house," he said. "It literally saved my life and I want to save theirs."
To find out more information about free detectors for seniors, low-income families, and residents with disabilities in Seattle, contact the Seattle Fire Department at 206-386-1337.
They only have to work once to make them worthwhile.
They just installed one in my apartment. Â We only have electrical power. Â But the new law states all buildings must have them...someone lobbied and is making cash..wonder who. lol
Let's require rain detectors also so we will know that we might get wet if we step out side. How about BS detectors also maybe fat food  detectors that could save lives by the millions.Â
 @swan the fat food detectors could literally save thousands of lives in the US alone!!  Good job!
Our furnace guy told me you should put it close to your bed so you can hear it if you get delirious from the carbon monoxide. Â If it's way down in the basement or in the garage next to your furnace it won't do any good because you won't hear it when you need it.
It may not be a law to have a carbon monoxide detector, but it is something that should be HIGHLY recommended.
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There are some devices that are designed to detect carbon monoxide and explosive gas. This is even better.
detectors rock! keep rolling'em out ! that go's for gas, mold ect too. in a town or city and beyond ! get it? next we need ones that tell us if a school has a flu bug? or virus  lol not a joke . would be cool !
If you have a motor home or camper, get one that runs on batteries for it.
If you have any gas appliances in the house or a fire place (gas or wood burning) you need to have CO detectors installed and maintained. It should not take a law to make this happen it is just common sense. I am very glad his mother had enough sense to send him the CO detectors and he did put them in place. Every home has to have smoke detectors and if there is fuel burning going on you need to put in separate CO detectors(yes comboâs work but not quite as well)  near every fuel burning appliance. The law does not need to tell you this, Even his mother know thisâ¦.
If you have an all electric heat ,hat water and cooking why would you need one unless you park your car in your house.
@swan: We also have people who try to use their hibachis or BBQs indoors when the power goes out. Also, if you have a fireplace, such as I do, you need one in case it gets clogged.
@usnrbb If you have regular maintenance on your fireplace and know how to use it safely, it won't get clogged. Perhaps we should have a law that requires people to take a class teaching them how to use fireplaces? Or outlaw BBQs so that people won't use them inside and kill themselves? Thing is - you can't make laws that outlaw stupidity. Which is what this carbon monoxide detector law is trying to do.
 @swan I've heard of people bringing propane stoves inside when the power goes out.
@IronWafflez @swan So have I. But most people don't do that. Do we require safety knives and safety scissons so that people don't injure themselves? Should we have heat limits on ranges so that people don't burn themselves cooking?...you can't create a perfectly safe environment so that people won't do stupid things and hurt themselves.
Glad to hear the CO detector did its job. It really doesn't take much at all to cause headaches, drowsiness, etc.- too much and you'll be picking rutabagas with a step ladder in short order. I have two in my house, one for each floor; reading this made me real glad they're there.
 @Crashbox I loved the rutabagas with a step ladder analogy! Thanks for the laugh tonight...