In April and June of 2013 three people, a couple and an 11-year-old boy, died at the Best Western Blue Ridge Plaza in Boone, N.C. They all were exposed to deadly levels of carbon monoxide (CO) while staying in the same second-floor room directly above a room that housed the natural-gas heater for the hotel pool. By August 2013 a bill, HB 74, had been signed into law, expanding the state’s current CO law to require CO detection in lodging establishments.
The passage of HB 74 brings the number of states requiring CO detection in commercial occupancies such as hotels, dormitories, apartment buildings or education occupancies to 21. Additionally, the latest versions of the International Building Code (IBC), International Fire Code (IFC) and several National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes and standards, including NFPA 72 and NPFA 720, have similar requirements, opening new opportunities for installers in several commercial markets.