MaineBusiness.com

Starting this week, home buyers in Maine will have to certify that their new residences have carbon monoxide detectors.

The new law, which started covering apartments and multi-family dwellings in September, is aimed at reducing the risk of poisoning by carbon monoxide, an odorless, invisible gas that is a byproduct of burning fuels like oil, propane, coal and wood.

"It's a good start," said Christina Fedolfi of Brunswick, who advocated passage of the bill after her sister and her sister's family died from carbon monoxide poisoning in Aspen, Colo., last year. "It's covering a lot of places where people do not have control over the heating system in a building. Those renters who aren't taking care of the furnace, they needed to have at least the promise of some coverage."

Now the law will have single-family homes – where most carbon monoxide poisonings occur – gradually become equipped with detectors. Typically, about 9,000 of the state's 450,000 homes change hands each year.

The law is already generating hundreds of telephone calls to the state Fire Marshal's Office, from electricians and real estate agents who want to know how to comply with the requirement.

"There is a derivative benefit from this. It's created a lot of good opportunities to talk to people about the benefits of these detection system," said Richard Taylor, senior research and planning analyst for the Fire Marshal's Office.

More than 400 people die of carbon monoxide poisoning each year, and more than 15,000 are treated for it in hospital emergency rooms, according to national statistics.

Fedolfi's sister and her sister's husband, along with their two young children, died last Thanksgiving in the condominium where they were staying, which had a malfunctioning heater. The condo lacked a carbon monoxide detector, which can cost as little as $20.

The couple's extended family vowed to push to require carbon monoxide detectors in all 50 states, and helped get laws passed in the past year in Colorado, Maine, Washington and Oregon. Now, more than 30 states have some sort of requirement for carbon monoxide detectors.

"It's certainly a tribute to them and helps us, I think, grieve as a family," Fedolfi said. "We just don't want this to ever happen again."

She worries that, heading into this heating season, the economic crunch may lead people to postpone furnace maintenance or purchases of carbon monoxide detectors.

Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, was a strong advocate for Maine's bill and believes it will save lives. Three years ago, a father and son died from carbon monoxide poisoning in Windham after running a generator in their basement to operate a kerosene heater.

"One could assume, once these detectors are in the homes, it's going to save lives," Diamond said. "I'm really pleased this thing has got off the ground."

The new requirement shouldn't be problematic, said Jan Guimont, owner of Atlantic Title Company of South Portland. Her firm will ask buyers at closing to sign the declaration, as the law requires.

The law does have gaps, Fedolfi said. It doesn't cover areas such as child care centers and college dormitories.

Also, while the law requires home buyers to certify that detectors are in place, there is no mechanism to check that certification. And there may be a legal loophole to get around the requirement, said Taylor with the Fire Marshal's Office.

However, most people appear to favor the intent of the law and want to make sure they are complying, he said.

Staff Writer David Hench can be contacted at 791-6327 or at: dhench@pressherald.com