North Carolina Law Would Mandate Hotel Carbon Monoxide Alarms

After the senseless deaths of three people, it looks like North Carolina will be passing legislation that would require hotels to put carbon monoxide detectors next to fuel-burning appliances, the Charlotte News & Observer reported Wednesday.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/10/3022424/nc-bill-require-co-detectors-in.html

The proposal has been added to a bill that was approved by a House committee this week, and comes on the heels of the news that several people died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning at a Best Western in Boone, N.C.

On April 16 an elderly couple, Daryl and Shirley Mae Jenkins, died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a leak in a pool heater when they were staying at the Best Western. On June 8, 11-year-old Jeffrey Williams and his mother Jeannie stayed in the same room as the Jenkins, and they also suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning. Williams died, and his mother is still trying to recovery from her injuries.

The proposed legislation would mandate that hotels install carbon monoxide detectors “in every enclosed space with a fossil-fuel burning heater, appliance of fireplace — and in every hotel room that shares a common wall, floor or ceiling with such spaces,” the News & Observer wrote.

The North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association helped draw up the proposal, which would direct the state’s Building Code Council to adopt the new rules regarding the carbon monoxide alarms. The body is set to meet in early September.

North Carolina is one of 27 states that mandate that new homes have carbon monoxide detectors, but it doesn’t require lodging facilities to have them, according to the News & Observer.

It was heartening to read that some national chains take it upon themselves to install carbon monoxide detectors in their hotels. La Quinta Inns & Suites puts them in every area where there’s a pool with gas-fired equipment, while Marriott requires CO alarms “wherever fuel-burning equipment is located within a hotel,” the News & Observer wrote.