New law requires carbon monoxide detectors in homes in Minnesota

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A new state law will require that carbon
monoxide detectors be installed within 10 feet of each bedroom in every Minnesota home and in many apartments.

The requirement was supported by safety advocates, who said the detectors, which cost between $20 and $50, could save 100 lives a year in Minnesota and spare others from illness caused by carbon monoxide, an odorless, invisible gas.

The alarm industry, which stands to expand its market because of the requirement, also pushed for the law.

The requirement was part of an omnibus public safety bill that Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed Friday. Eight other states have similar laws.

Starting in 2007, new homes and apartments in Minnesota will need to have detectors within 10 feet of each bedroom. Owners of existing homes must comply by August 2008, and owners of existing apartment buildings by August 2009.

An exception allows owners of new and existing apartment buildings to install detectors near furnaces that are connected to alarms that can be heard throughout the building.

"It's just common sense," said David Griggs of Cannon Falls, who pushed for the law. His 3-year-old granddaughter died two years ago from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, sponsored a detector bill in the House and said the requirement was approved partly because the devices have become more reliable and less costly.

The law does not include financial penalties for those who don't comply, but the owner of an apartment building without a detector could face a lawsuit.

"I wouldn't want to be a building owner that willfully bypassed the law and had an accident happen," said McNamara, whose brother-in-law died of carbon monoxide poisoning about six years
ago.