CO detectors + government = good thing

John R. Hall

MONTPELIER, Vt. The Senate has given preliminary approval to a bill that would require carbon monoxide detectors in many Vermont homes.

The bill is similar to one that passed in the House this month.

The measure would require detectors in rental housing, dormitories, hotel rooms and new homes, and in existing homes when they are sold.

The mandate comes in response to a carbon monoxide leak at a University of Vermont apartment that killed one person.

The Senate voted unanimously in favor of the bill yesterday. Now the Senate or House will have to vote on the other chamber's bill before the bill can go to the governor.

Robert O'Connor_7

John

Always a good thing. In NJ we have had it for a while now.

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/news/2002/pr123002.htm

http://www.state.nj.us/dca/codes/bhi/more.shtml

Robert O'Connor/NJ

PS: John, If you require more info (NJ specific), I got a load of em... Good post!

lrkrgrrl

> MONTPELIER, Vt. The Senate has given preliminary

> approval to a bill that would require carbon

> monoxide detectors in many Vermont homes.

>

> The

> bill is similar to one that passed in the House

> this month.

>

> The measure would require

> detectors in rental housing, dormitories, hotel

> rooms and new homes, and in existing homes when

> they are sold.

>

> The mandate comes in response

> to a carbon monoxide leak at a University of

> Vermont apartment that killed one person.

>

> The

> Senate voted unanimously in favor of the bill

> yesterday. Now the Senate or House will have to

> vote on the other chamber's bill before the bill

> can go to the governor.



Don't get too excited about VT being on the cutting edge here. The only reason they put this on the legislative calendar for this session is that a major boiler failure in a student housing complex at the University of Vermont killed one young man and injured nine others, two critically.

lrkrgrrl

Malfunctioning Boiler +Broken Vent Pipe = Dead People

Don't get too excited about VT being on the cutting edge here. This was fast-tracked after a major boiler failure in a student housing complex at the University of Vermont killed one young man and injured nine other residents, two critically. The property management company had a "will call" contract with the heating maintenance company, so there were no regular inspections or service on the 10 or so boilers in the complex. The complex was built in 1994, and since then the only checks have been the "Yup. looks ok to me" type, and the only service in response to problems. The unit in question had just been "serviced," but no one caught the fact that the PVC vent piping was subject to a recall around 1998. The boiler wasn't burning right, and a joint blew on the vent pipe. Who's to notice if a bunch of college students all sleep in on a weekend morning?
Too bad we can't legislate common sense. There's a reason why they call it preventative maintenance. Thanks for your patience.

don_52

legislation

and selling fear,

that pipe actually blew off or separated, what happend
with the spills and rollouts? ( failed or jumped )

well?

that whole episode got covered up / buried, the boilers
were gone before they were impounded as "forensic evidence".

like we need more socialist knee jerk laws to make us
safe?

if this sort of thing happens in an innercity zip code
noboby give a rats, right?


Can hardly wait till some public official's waistrel
offspring kills themselves under dubious circumstances
to bring us more "needed law" with it's attendant pork.

"make me rich by act of congress" sam clemens

pass more laws to benefit a few.

NIH official count from 2002 for "fatalities
by unintentional means" was over 106,000, are
you aware of that "FACT".

and it isn't terrorrism or drunk drivers alone,
let alone CO.

if i can't sell'em' let em' freeze, suffer and die.

"privitize profits, socialize costs".

proper installs that are maintained yearly will
perhaps never have a problem.

"but that's not what this is about right?

"we're selling comfort", and if that doesn't work we'll
pull out the boegeyman, sounds familiar right?

most problems of "this" nature are created by negligent
landlords and "licsensed, bonded and insured contractors
out of your local yellow pages, not diy and not the big
box stores.

most posts here can't tell the difference betwix, liberty,
libation or liversausage.

this place has become no more credible than the evening news.

hope this sticks in someone's craw.

John R. Hall

I'll agree

You'll see everyone scrambling when a family member of a Senator or higher-up government official dies from CO poisoning. Then the subject will become "important."

Constantin

It's that time of the month, Don?

I hope that your vent was as cathardic as it appears. But seriously, someone got killed in VT due to negligence and everyone who has a stake in the issue is claiming "it wasn't me". Brilliant.

The government that claims the right to give inspectors the ability to shut down jobsites, condemn buildings, etc. now states that it's inspections are "cursory". Well, why have them at all, if the inspector isn't competent enough to recognize pipe that has been recalled years ago?

The company that installed the vent pipe should have contacted the management of the building when the recall was initiated.

The maintenance company should have recognized the pipe for what it was years ago. Given that they weren't waving a memo to the management of the building regarding the stuff when the cameras came on, I can only assume that they also missed it.

Nevermind figuring out why the boiler was producing that much CO, why gases from the boiler room could enter the building, why there wasn't a CO alarm in the boiler room, etc.

Laws like the one that was passed in VT are responses to market failures. For me, the real tragedy is not the requirement that people own CO detectors (it's cheap insurance, IMHO), but rather that there is no requirement for residential CO detectors that actually work (i.e. COExperts or the NCI unit).

The role of all trades is first and foremost to protect the lives of the people they serve. I'm sure that there also was a time when backflow preventers and other devices were not required and their "need" was hotly debated. Yet, today we take them for granted. Similarly, I think CO detectors that protect us from high and low exposures will become standard issue in the years ahead.

don_52

okay, i'll leave out the bile....

> I hope that your vent was as cathardic as it

> appears. But seriously, someone got killed in VT

> due to negligence and everyone who has a stake in

> the issue is claiming "it wasn't me".

> Brilliant.

>

> The government that claims the

> right to give inspectors the ability to shut down

> jobsites, condemn buildings, etc. now states that

> it's inspections are "cursory". Well, why have

> them at all, if the inspector isn't competent

> enough to recognize pipe that has been recalled

> years ago?

>

> The company that installed the vent

> pipe should have contacted the management of the

> building when the recall was initiated.

>

> The

> maintenance company should have recognized the

> pipe for what it was years ago. Given that they

> weren't waving a memo to the management of the

> building regarding the stuff when the cameras

> came on, I can only assume that they also missed

> it.

>

> Nevermind figuring out why the boiler was

> producing that much CO, why gases from the boiler

> room could enter the building, why there wasn't a

> CO alarm in the boiler room, etc.

>

> Laws like

> the one that was passed in VT are responses to

> market failures. For me, the real tragedy is not

> the requirement that people own CO detectors

> (it's cheap insurance, IMHO), but rather that

> there is no requirement for residential CO

> detectors that actually work (i.e. COExperts or

> the NCI unit).

>

> The role of all trades is first

> and foremost to protect the lives of the people

> they serve. I'm sure that there also was a time

> when backflow preventers and other devices were

> not required and their "need" was hotly debated.

> Yet, today we take them for granted. Similarly, I

> think CO detectors that protect us from high and

> low exposures will become standard issue in the

> years ahead.

Weezbo

This year the electricians Will Be installing them ,in every

new home we build. i been testing em diligently on this subject:) our blower door tests are like .9 to 1.1 .....thank you for leting me chirp that up a bit while mentioning outside air and hrv;s in the same sentence

Jim Davis_3

Negligence is ok as long as you are ignorant

The boiler blew up hours after it was serviced. Because this was ignorance no criminal charges will be levied. Blame the flue pipe instead. Will CO alarms prevent explosions? Will they make equipment run safer? Government interference solves very few problems, just caters to more ignorance and less responsibility. Certainly explains why our industry avoids CO testing or training. What you don't know can't hurt you, just others.

Gary Reecher

HTPV vent pipes are still out there...........

Yes the CPSC issued a recall for this high temperature plastic vent back in 1998. Yet it is still installed. Two years ago had the local newspaper run an article that this type vent was recalled. The company that I work never installed this type venting system. Yet we received over 15 calls to get them replaced.

Maybe the folks here should contact your local paper referencing the tragedy in Vermont and the CPSC recall notice.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml98/98072.html