BELLINGHAM — Captain Dave Pethick and the Bellingham Fire Department can probably expect to get a few more calls like the one they received last week for a carbon monoxide alarm.
“The occupant said his first-floor carbon monoxide alarm started beeping,” Pethick told The Bellingham Herald. “Then a little while later his second-floor one started beeping. It was really weird for them both to be beeping on the same day.”
The resident had changed the batteries of the carbon monoxide alarms, but Pethick said it wasn’t that — it was the alarms themselves.
On April 1, 2012, Washington passed a Carbon Monoxide Alarm Law ( RCW 19.27.530 ) requiring alarms be installed in all new residences. The law also made carbon monoxide alarms mandatory in existing apartments, condominiums, hotels, motels and single-family residences as of Jan. 1, 2013, with some exceptions.
So what is important about when that law was passed?
It’s been eight years, give or take, Pethick said.
“Carbon monoxide alarms work because of an electrochemical cell, and that cell degrades over time,” Pethick told The Herald. “Usually it’s around eight years. Well, it’s been about eight years since the state passed the law, so now those cells are starting to degrade to the point where they can’t reliably test for carbon monoxide.”
And like they do when the batteries run down, the alarms beep or chirp.
Pethick said the Bellingham Fire Department is starting a social media campaign to remind residents to change their detectors.
Even if your house is newer than eight years old, or your detectors have been installed more recently than 2012, there’s still a chance they need to be changed out, Pethick said.
The homeowner on the call Pethick went to on May 19 said his alarms were installed just two years ago.
“But they were manufactured in 2013 and shipped with batteries in so you can get that initial start-up,” Pethick said. “I guess the cells started degrading then, and they expired yesterday.”
Pethick said the beeps the detectors put out when the cells are degraded is different from the series of beeps they give out when they detect carbon monoxide. When alarms detect carbon monoxide, they usually sound with a consistent string of beeps, rather than a single or spaced-out beeps.
He said what different beeps mean are usually referenced on the back of the alarm units themselves, as are the dates the detectors will expire.
“The way carbon monoxide alarms work is they sound when a certain level (of carbon monoxide) is reached — a safety factor,” Pethick said. “When the alarm sounds, it’s not an immediate danger, like a smoke alarm. They’re very reliable and people shouldn’t be alarmed that they are in any immediate danger. They should have time to diagnose what’s going on.”
Carbon monoxide poisoning
But if the alarm sounds and you or anyone living with you feel the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, Pethick said get outside to fresh air and call 911.
Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the Washington State Department of Health, include headache, dizziness, fatigue, weakness, confusion and nausea. Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that cannot be seen or smelled but can build up quickly in enclosed spaces and kill a person in minutes.
Though Pethick said all brands of detectors need to meet testing requirements, he recommended getting one that would fit the old bracket to make installation easier.
Electrical Safety Foundation International, a nonprofit organization promoting electrical safety at home and in the workplace, recommends testing carbon monoxide alarms once a month, replacing batteries at least once a year and knowing the lifespan of your detectors according to manufacturer’s instructions.
“Every home should have a carbon monoxide alarm, because it (carbon monoxide) can cause some pretty serious injuries,” Pethick said. “When you’re asleep, you won’t notice the symptoms. That’s why it’s so important to have these devices that are looking out for your safety.”
