Council votes to accelerate carbon monoxide monitors
Amendment triggers start in October 2010
By Bryan P. Sears, bsears@patuxent.com
Posted 12/22/09
Owners of rental properties in Baltimore County will have four months less than they might have thought to comply with a newly passed law requiring carbon monoxide detectors.
On Monday, the seven-member council unanimously passed an amended version of the carbon monoxide bill in a voting session in Towson.
Council Chairman Joseph Bartenfelder said before the meeting that he planned on sponsoring an amendment to shorten the grace period for installation from 12 months to eight months. The law is expected to take effect in February, making the new deadline October
“This is a public safety issue,” said Bartenfelder.
Officials said Baltimore County firefighters responded to more than 1,300 incidents carbon monoxide poisoning last year. The department projects it will be called to about 1,400 incidents this year.
Carbon monoxide poisoning cases are not uncommon, especially in the fall and winter as temperatures drop and people turn on their furnaces — one of the main sources of the odorless and colorless toxic gas, according to Baltimore County Fire Department Chief John Hohman said at a November news conference.
Sources of the gas typically come from improperly vented gas stoves and clothes dryers, gas generators being used inside of or too close to a house and automobiles left running in garages, according to Hohman.
The gas binds to red blood cells, displacing oxygen, according to county Health Officer Dr. Gregory Branch. Symptoms include nausea, headaches and dizziness. High levels of the gas can be fatal.
Last week, firefighters and medics responded to the Town and Country Apartments less than two miles from Bartenfelder’s Fullerton home. Three adults and an 11-month-old child were transported to local hospitals for treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning.
“I want to hold the industry’s feet to the fire to come into compliance,” Bartenfelder said Monday. “I’m getting tired of watching the news and seeing people get carted off on stretchers.”
The law require owners of rental units with gas appliances or an attached garage to install at least one carbon monoxide detector in common areas outside bedrooms.
The bill includes the 15,000 properties in the county rental registration program, as well as all apartment complexes. Rental property owners would have to have the units installed by October.
Councilman Kevin Kamenetz recommended that Bartenfelder add provisions allowing owners to seek a 60-day extension. That provision was also added.
The county Department of Permits and Development Management, which is responsible for ensuring compliance, will be required to draw up regulations establishing criteria for getting an extension.
The detector can be combined with a smoke detector — but must be either wired into the electrical system or plugged into an outlet that is not controlled by a wall switch. The units must also have a battery backup.
The property owner would have to provide certification of installation to the county and product information to at least one adult per rental unit. Residents would be responsible to replace batteries and would not be allowed to disable the detectors.
The county would enforce the law through its rental registration program, as well as by making spot checks of rental properties. Violations would be subject to a fine of $200 per day.
Prince George’s County and Ocean City have similar laws on the books. State law already requires the monitors for rental units built after Jan. 1, 2008.
Before Monday’s meeting, Kathy Howard, a lobbyist representing the Baltimore-based Maryland Multi-Housing Association, questioned the need for Bartenfelder’s change to accelerate the timetable.
“It’s going to make it difficult for complexes to meet the deadline,” she said.
Howard and the association worked with County Executive Jim Smith to craft a bill that wouldn’t require rental properties in the county to install the detectors until next December, after a new executive and council are sworn in. But Bartenfelder said that’s one reason he wanted it done sooner.
“This is a public safety issue that has to be dealt with,” Bartenfelder said. “If there’s an issue, this council will still be there to deal with it rather than a new council and a new executive.”
On Monday, the seven-member council unanimously passed an amended version of the carbon monoxide bill in a voting session in Towson.
Council Chairman Joseph Bartenfelder said before the meeting that he planned on sponsoring an amendment to shorten the grace period for installation from 12 months to eight months. The law is expected to take effect in February, making the new deadline October
“This is a public safety issue,” said Bartenfelder.
Officials said Baltimore County firefighters responded to more than 1,300 incidents carbon monoxide poisoning last year. The department projects it will be called to about 1,400 incidents this year.
Carbon monoxide poisoning cases are not uncommon, especially in the fall and winter as temperatures drop and people turn on their furnaces — one of the main sources of the odorless and colorless toxic gas, according to Baltimore County Fire Department Chief John Hohman said at a November news conference.
Sources of the gas typically come from improperly vented gas stoves and clothes dryers, gas generators being used inside of or too close to a house and automobiles left running in garages, according to Hohman.
The gas binds to red blood cells, displacing oxygen, according to county Health Officer Dr. Gregory Branch. Symptoms include nausea, headaches and dizziness. High levels of the gas can be fatal.
Last week, firefighters and medics responded to the Town and Country Apartments less than two miles from Bartenfelder’s Fullerton home. Three adults and an 11-month-old child were transported to local hospitals for treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning.
“I want to hold the industry’s feet to the fire to come into compliance,” Bartenfelder said Monday. “I’m getting tired of watching the news and seeing people get carted off on stretchers.”
The law require owners of rental units with gas appliances or an attached garage to install at least one carbon monoxide detector in common areas outside bedrooms.
The bill includes the 15,000 properties in the county rental registration program, as well as all apartment complexes. Rental property owners would have to have the units installed by October.
Councilman Kevin Kamenetz recommended that Bartenfelder add provisions allowing owners to seek a 60-day extension. That provision was also added.
The county Department of Permits and Development Management, which is responsible for ensuring compliance, will be required to draw up regulations establishing criteria for getting an extension.
The detector can be combined with a smoke detector — but must be either wired into the electrical system or plugged into an outlet that is not controlled by a wall switch. The units must also have a battery backup.
The property owner would have to provide certification of installation to the county and product information to at least one adult per rental unit. Residents would be responsible to replace batteries and would not be allowed to disable the detectors.
The county would enforce the law through its rental registration program, as well as by making spot checks of rental properties. Violations would be subject to a fine of $200 per day.
Prince George’s County and Ocean City have similar laws on the books. State law already requires the monitors for rental units built after Jan. 1, 2008.
Before Monday’s meeting, Kathy Howard, a lobbyist representing the Baltimore-based Maryland Multi-Housing Association, questioned the need for Bartenfelder’s change to accelerate the timetable.
“It’s going to make it difficult for complexes to meet the deadline,” she said.
Howard and the association worked with County Executive Jim Smith to craft a bill that wouldn’t require rental properties in the county to install the detectors until next December, after a new executive and council are sworn in. But Bartenfelder said that’s one reason he wanted it done sooner.
“This is a public safety issue that has to be dealt with,” Bartenfelder said. “If there’s an issue, this council will still be there to deal with it rather than a new council and a new executive.”
user comments (1)
user countyeditor says...
Mr. Bartenfelder has served on the County Council for 15 years and has all but announced his candidacy for County Executive. His district has been GROUND ZERO for Carbon Monoxide poisoning over the last decade. This is the first time Mr. Bartenfelder has called for any reform on this public health matter.
Posted 10:33 PM, 12.26.09
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