By Derek Gentile
The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts)
Copyright 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc. and New England Newspaper Group Inc.
All Rights Reserved

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A trip to the local hardware store for a carbon monoxide detector could do more than save a homeowner $100 or more in fines. It could save a life.

This is not hyperbole, according to Jennifer Meith, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Fire Services.

Unlike smoke, which is often ill-smelling and easy to see, carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless.

A malfunctioning gas heater, a clogged chimney or a gas-fired space heater in an enclosed space can generate the gas. And if the carbon monoxide level is high enough, the consequences can be tragic.

Carbon monoxide is absorbed into the blood more than 200 times faster than oxygen, according to the online Medical Encyclopedia. It displaces oxygen in the blood, and eventually travels to the heart, brain and other organs, resulting in nausea, headaches and eventually death.

But the good news is that battery-powered detectors can be purchased for as little as $20 to $30 at local hardware stores, and larger department chains such as Wal-Mart, Target and Home Depot. More sophisticated detectors, including "talking detectors," which alert residents verbally to the problem, can cost up to $125. The detectors can also be purchased together with smoke alarms.

State law requires that the detectors be placed on every floor of habitable space in a house or building. The law, called Nicole's Law, was introduced in Massachusetts in 2005. It was named after 7-year-old Nicole Garofalo died in her home in Plymouth of carbon monoxide poisoning after a snowstorm clogged the home's chimney. The house did not have a detector.

Kenneth Spaniol, a deputy chief in the Pittsfield Fire Department, recommends that residents get a detector with a digital readout, which are a little more expensive. That way, he said, residents can check the readout from time to time to see if the levels of carbon monoxide in their homes are increasing.

"That's just a personal observation," he said. "As long as people buy some kind of detector, we'll be comfortable."

Spaniol said that because the initial symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning -- which are nausea, headaches and dizziness -- resemble the flu, many people with gas or wood-burning devices in their homes may already be exposed to low-level amounts of the gas without knowing it.

"People may be getting headaches, and they're saying, 'Ah, I'm just getting old,' or something like that," he said. "But it may be more serious."

Spaniol added that carbon monoxide is about the same weight as oxygen, so it is not, unlike smoke, lighter than air. Thus, he said, residents do not have to install them on their ceilings. They can install them against a wall. About three quarters of the way up a wall is probably the best location, Spaniol said.

The state Office of Fire Services recommends that consumers use battery-powered devices. However, detectors are also available to be plugged into a wall socket and can also be wired into a home electrical system. If these types of devices are used, the state recommends that consumers buy detectors with backup battery systems in case of electrical failure, said Meith.