A battery-operated carbon monoxide detector can be purchased for less than $30 at major chain stores like Target or Walmart. There are few more cost-effective products on the market. The highly toxic gas, a byproduct of combustion, is odorless and colorless, so a detector is a critical line of self defense against accidental poisoning.
The deaths of Rodney Todd and his seven children in Princess Anne, discovered Monday afternoon in their home in what police investigators believe to be a case of carbon monoxide poisoning, have provided ample and tragic proof of the necessity of these devices. Five girls and two boys, ranging in ages from 6 to 15, died with their 36-year-old father.
Maryland is one of 29 states that has some requirements regarding the presence of carbon monoxide detectors written into law. But its laws are far from the most comprehensive. Currently, Maryland requires them in new construction and in all public school buildings as well as after certain types of building renovations. There is also a penalty for tampering with carbon monoxide detectors installed by landlords. Maryland municipalities and counties have authority to impose tougher rules through their building codes, but Somerset County and the town of Princess Anne have elected to stick with state standards instead, according to county officials.
Other states such as Illinois, Massachusetts and Minnesota have gone further than Maryland in imposing a statewide mandate, requiring carbon monoxide detectors to be installed within 10 or 15 feet of every bedroom of every dwelling. If you want to sell a home in the Bay State, for instance, you are expected not only to have CO alarms installed but to have them certified by the local fire marshal. Without that certification, the title can't be transferred.
That's a high standard but one that is most likely to save lives. And make no mistake, accidental carbon monoxide poisoning is a serious threat responsible for an average of 4,000 hospitalizations and 430 deaths a year nationwide between 1999 and 2010, according to federal statistics. Heating systems, water heaters, space heaters and other improperly ventilated devices that burn fossil fuels are among the most common sources of the poison gas.
In the case of the Todd family, it appears that a gasoline-powered generator found in the kitchen was the source of the carbon monoxide. (The local utility company had reportedly cut off power because of unpaid bills.) There were no signs of foul play, according to police.
Clearly, people living in older buildings should be installing carbon monoxide detectors on their own accord, but voluntary efforts can only go so far. As in the case of seat belts, participation rises when the safety devices are made mandatory and the law is enforced. The Massachusetts law, which was passed in 2010, not only sets a high safety standard but provides ample enforcement opportunities, which may be the most critical factor.
Currently, the Maryland General Assembly is considering a proposal to require hotels to install the detectors by 2016. The economic cost to hotels is, according to a legislative analysis, "minimal," but the life-saving benefits are substantial. In 2006, two people died in an Ocean City hotel that experienced a gas leak that infiltrated their room. The corrective measure, sponsored by Baltimore Sen. Joan Carter Conway, passed the Senate unanimously but still awaits action in a House committee, which rejected a similar bill last year.
No doubt there will be a lot of soul-searching in Princess Anne and Somerset County as investigators sift through the details of this tragedy. Bringing a generator indoors or positioning it in such a way that the exhaust might seep into a home was a disastrous choice that might have been avoided simply by reading instructions. But it's also fair for government to take steps to protect children from such bad choices.
Government mandates are not necessarily fashionable in Annapolis these days, given concerns about Maryland's "friendliness" to business. But this is one case where tougher rules deserve more serious consideration. A $30 carbon monoxide detector is more than capable of saving an entire family from being poisoned but only if it's been purchased and properly installed.