Welcome back from the 4th of July holiday weekend. I know you did all the important things like barbecuing, soaking up sun, watching fireworks and installing carbon monoxide alarms in your home. Confused? A new California Law went into effect this past Friday July 1, 2011 requiring the installation of carbon monoxide alarms in single family residences. The law requires a CO alarm outside the sleeping rooms in their immediate vicinity (usually the hallway), and one on each level of the home including the basement.
If you haven’t installed your CO alarms don’t worry. Although, the fine for a violation of the law is $250 you do have thirty days to comply after being cited before the fine is imposed. So don’t wait to be cited, head to home depot today and pick some CO alarms up. I suggest you don’t purchase those plug-in alarms if you live with children or teenagers. Children play with everything and will pull out the alarms leaving you all in danger. Teenagers will pull out the plug-in alarm just to stop that annoying beeping.
It doesn’t matter if you purchae a plug-in, battery, or hardwired alarm as long as you purchase and install them. The effect of CO poisoning can be fatal and the only way to prevent a fatality is to install an alarm. CO odorless and colorless, so it’s highly dangerous. I know because I suffered from CO poisoning when I was a teenager. We had a faulty heater in our home. I suffered from a headache worse than any pain I had ever felt. It was continuous and unbearable. Luckily, my parents got my brother and I to the hospital in time. We were there for hours, and as we were getting better we had to answer the silliest questions to make sure we didn’t suffer brain damage. It was frightening, don’t learn the lesson the way my family did. Install your CO alarms today!
