According to Steve Wentworth, Code Enforcement officer for the City of Caribou, carbon monoxide detectors are now required in all residential dwellings in the State of Maine. The 124th Maine Legislature recently passed Public Law 162, “An Act to Protect Maine Residents from Home Fires and Carbon Monoxide.” The new law mandates the installation and maintenance of Carbon Monoxide detectors in residential dwellings throughout the state. The new law went into effect Sept, 12.
Carbon monoxide, as a byproduct of combustion can come from many different sources including: un-vented kerosene and propane gas space-heaters, propane water heaters, wood stoves, coal stoves and propane gas cook stoves. Other sources are gasoline emergency electrical generators, other gasoline powered equipment and automobile exhaust. Automobiles running in poorly vented garages attached to a home are dangerous sources of carbon monoxide and the incomplete oxidation due to a lack of available oxygen during the combustion process can cause carbon monoxide from most any source of solid or fossil fuel when not burnt properly.
Carbon monoxide displaces the good oxygen we all need. Low levels of carbon monoxide can cause fatigue in healthy people and chest pains in people with a history of heart disease. Higher concentrations can cause impaired vision and coordination, headaches, dizziness, confusion and nausea. Carbon monoxide is also known to cause flu-like symptoms that clear up after returning to normal oxygen levels, however individuals should be aware that if the concentration levels are high enough it can be fatal.
Wentworth also reminds property owners that carbon monoxide detectors are required in each area, giving access to bedrooms in each apartment in any building of multifamily occupancy; any addition to or restoration of an existing single-family dwelling that adds at least one bedroom to the dwelling unit; and any conversion of a building to a single-family dwelling.
The carbon monoxide detectors must be powered by a battery and the electrical service in the building (either plugged into a receptacle or hardwired).
Upon the request of a deaf or hard-of-hearing occupant, the owner of a dwelling unit shall provide an approved carbon monoxide detector within the dwelling unit. If the property owner does not provide a suitable detector, the occupant may purchase, install and maintain a suitable unit themselves and deduct from the cost of the rent.
Anyone building a new single-family dwelling shall install a carbon monoxide detector in each area within or giving access to bedrooms. That detection must be powered by both the electrical service in the building and a battery back-up.
According to the new law, in an apartment occupied under the terms of a rental agreement or under month-month tenancy, carbon monoxide detectors are to be in place and operational at the time of each occupancy. Upon a tenant’s written notification of any deficiencies in the unit, the landlord shall repair or replace the detector. Tenants shall keep the carbon monoxide detectors in working condition by keeping charged batteries in place and refrain from disabling them.
After October 31, any person acquiring by sale (buying) or exchange either a single-family dwelling or multiunit apartment building shall certify at the time of the closing that the dwelling or multiunit apartment building is provided with carbon monoxide detectors in accordance with this statute. This certification must be signed and dated by the purchaser as part of the real estate transfer.
The requirements of having smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors may seem unnecessary to some but these devices are both proven to save lives.
Anyone having questions about the new law or needing more information regarding carbon monoxide detectors should contact the Caribou Code Enforcement officer at 493-4243, ext. 214.
