Bill to require detectors moves forward

DENVER - Carbon monoxide detectors would be required for every home sold in Colorado and every new residence constructed, under a bill that passed the Senate Business Affairs and Labor Committee Tuesday.

Senate Bill 187 requires all single and multi-family dwellings sold after July 1 and any building permit issued after that date to be equipped with the detectors if there's a fuel-burning heater, fireplace or attached garage.

The measure passed the committee on a 4-3 vote after hearing from a family impacted by carbon monoxide poisoning, fire chiefs and a slew of opponents, including the state's home builders, apartment managers and building code inspectors.

Currently, 15 other states in the country have some sort of requirement that carbon monoxide detectors be installed for new construction and in all homes sold.

The detectors can cost anywhere from $20 to $200.

Robert Reyes says the cost is well worth it. His family needed hours in a hyperbaric chamber to remove the so-called "silent killer" from their blood in April, 2006 after their furnace leaked.

"We ask you to make it mandatory," he said of the purchase of carbon monoxide detectors. "Life is more important than $20."

Opponents said they, too, want to keep people safe, but that this was an issue for local building codes, not for the State Legislature. Further, they asserted that local building code inspectors have not required CO detectors, like they have smoke detectors, because their technology is flawed.

"Carbon monoxide alarms are not ready for prime time," testified Greg Wheeler, a code inspector in Thornton. "They don't have the reliability and longevity of smoke detectors."

Denver Fire Chief Nick Nuanes told lawmakers that from 2003-2007, his department responded to 520 incidents involving carbon monoxide poisoning. In those cases, 81 people were taken to the hospital. Douglas Forsman, the fire chief of the Union Colony Fire Rescue Authority, said roughly one person a month dies in Colorado due to CO poisoning.

The measure now moves to the full State Senate where its sponsor, Sen. Bob Hagedorn (D-Aurora) said he is willing to discuss whether apartments should be exempt from the measure. A representative from the Colorado Apartment Association testified the measure would cost roughly $14 million to implement in the Denver Metro Area alone.