Carbon monoxide detectors now law
Bill honors girl who died in '04
By Carolyn Y.
Johnson, Globe Staff | November 5, 2005
PLYMOUTH -- At the Plymouth
firehouse that responded in January when a 7-year-old girl was found
unconscious, overcome by carbon monoxide fumes, Governor Mitt Romney yesterday
signed a bill requiring carbon monoxide detectors in most housing.
The legislation -- approved last week with the support of
fire officials, local politicians, and the girl's family -- was called
''Nicole's Law" in memory of 7-year-old Nicole Garofalo, who died after a
snowdrift blocked an exhaust vent from her family's propane-fired boiler,
filling the house with the odorless, colorless, lethal gas.
''This is a very good outcome from a
very bad event," said state Senator Therese Murray, who coauthored the
legislation.
There were nearly 3,000 carbon
monoxide cases reported in Massachusetts in 2003. According to the federal
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 480 people die from
unintentional carbon monoxide poisoning each year. The gas gives little warning
without a detector, which costs about $30. Symptoms of poisoning -- nausea,
headache, and fatigue -- mimic the flu.
Fire officials stressed yesterday
that Nicole's Law would help prevent further tragedies, by requiring working
carbon monoxide detectors in all housing in the state that has enclosed parking
or equipment such as boilers, furnaces, and hot water heaters powered by gas,
coal, oil, or wood.
''It's all-encompassing -- every
dwelling unit in the state, from a college dorm . . . to a hotel-motel,"
said state Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan. He said the law is also timely: Facing
surging fuel costs, many families may be considering alternate forms of heating
that could carry carbon monoxide risks.
The law, which is very similar to a
smoke detector mandate enacted two decades ago, requires a battery-operated or
plug-in detector in most residences by March 31st, 2006.
Large buildings with multiple units
or other special cases, which will be required to install hard-wired detectors,
will have until Jan. 1, 2007, to comply.
As with the smoke detector
requirement, Nicole's Law will be enforced by local fire departments during home
inspections prior to the sale or transfer of property.
''The most important penalty is, you
can't sell your home if it doesn't meet the fire code," said Coan.
While the bill overwhelmingly passed
the Legislature, it faced opposition from apartment building owners and housing
authorities, who were concerned about its expense.
''It's just another burden,"
said Lenore Monello Schloming, president of the Small Property Owners
Association.
She said the legislation distracts
from the greater danger from fires, and she added that carbon monoxide detectors
sometimes register false-positives, which would increase the number of calls to
local fire departments.
But the bill had broad support from
fire officials, politicians, and the local Girl Scout troop, which helped
distribute free detectors and launch a public education campaign yesterday.
''Nicole Garofalo was a Brownie in
Plymouth, and we were looking for something meaningful to do," said troop
leader Janet Young.
Kidde, a fire safety product
manufacturer, donated 400 carbon monoxide detectors to the town of Plymouth and
300 to the town of Sandwich yesterday.
''Today, we have the opportunity to
turn the senseless death of Nicole Garofalo into the wake-up call the little
girl never heard," Romney said.
© Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company.
