Wisconsin Requires Carbon Monoxide Detectors in Hotels and Apartments

Wisconsin hotels and apartment managers are scrambling to comply with a new state law that requires them to install carbon monoxide detectors.

The law goes into effect in several months, but hoteliers and others are still trying to interpret it and figure out how many detectors they need to install in order to be in compliance, according to a story posted online, http://www.wbay.com/Global/story.asp?S=11866990, by WBAY-TV In Green Bay, Wis., Friday.

The law applies to apartment buildings, hotels and bed and breakfasts. Under the legislation, carbon monoxide detectors must be installed within 15 feet of a bedroom if there is a fuel-burning device, like a fireplace, in the building.

But hoteliers are unclear on that part of the law, and whether it mandates that detectors also have to be placed within 15 feet of the actual appliance.

According to the WBAY story, the Green Bay Fire Department will do the inspections to be sure hoteliers and apartment owners are in compliance with the new law.

Local fire officials pointed out that carbon monoxide poisoning is the No. 1 cause of accidental poisoning in the world, and that about 170 people die each year in the United States from carbon monoxide poisoning.