By Ed Sacks
Chicago Sun Times
Copyright 2007 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
CHICAGO — A comprehensive carbon monoxide detector law is now in statewide effect. The law corrected flaws in the 1994 Chicago version that allowed detectors farther away from bedrooms, and exempted dwelling units without their own heat and hot water fossil fuel combustion units inside the residential walls.
Every dwelling unit in Illinois, be it an apartment or a single-family home, must have working carbon monoxide detectors. At least one must be within 15 feet of a room used for sleeping.
Jennifer Hoyle, an official for the City of Chicago Law Department, said the effect of the state law will be to modify the city ordinance. In Chicago, detectors are also required in furnace rooms.
“Our carbon monoxide detector went off at 2 a.m. I was grateful to be standing out there waiting for the fire department even though it was a false alarm,” said Oak Park state Sen. Don Harmon, one of the act’s sponsors.
Landlords are required to provide and maintain the units, and to make sure the detector is working when tenants move in. The law requires tenants to keep fresh batteries in the detectors and inform the landlord of problems.
CO monitors start at about $20.
Although it’s a state law, Patti Thompson of the state fire marshall’s office said it will be up to local safety officials to enforce it.
Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control report each year between 40,000 to 50,000 visits to emergency departments involving documented exposure to CO. About 500 people per year die from accidental exposure.
In Illinois, there were approximately 1,050 reported injuries from CO in 2006, according to Robin Antognoli, with the Illinois Poison Center. She said there were no reported deaths.
Willfully failing to install a detector is a Class B misdemeanor.