In recent weeks the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning have been hitting very close to home here in Colorado.  On November 28th, a family of four in Aspen was killed by the invisible, odorless gas due to a leak in a gas-fired broiler.  Last week on January 5th a University of Denver student was killed in a similar case, possibly from a faulty flue.  This past Saturday more than 30 people in a Greeley hockey rink were treated for CO poisoning when exhaust gases from the ice grooming equipment is believed to have caused dangerous levels of the gas. 

The Colorado state legislature yesterday took up a bill that would mandate detectors in all new homes and in apartment buildings.  While we don’t necessarily believe legislation is the cure, education certainly would go a long ways toward making folks aware of the danger.

The cost of carbon monoxide detectors has dropped appreciably in recent years as they become more popular and now is the time to protect yourself and your home.  Every home should have at least one and indeed, experts recommend you have one on every level of the house. 

An expanded version of this article is available on Examiner.com with more safety tips on how you can protect you and your family from carbon monoxide.

The incident in Aspen got my attention and I bought a number of them for my house and highly encourage everyone to do the same.  They can be found at most home improvement stores, big box stores or online at places like Amazon.com.  Installation is very simple with some just needing to be plugged into a wall outlet and others being battery operated.