New law prompts brisk business for carbon monoxide detectors

Business is brisk for carbon-monoxide detectors due to a state law that takes effect July 1.

Inspired by a string of carbon-monoxide poisoning deaths last winter, the measure requires detectors to be placed in new homes and those that sell, and in rentals when new tenants move in.

Apartment-complex owners wanting to retrofit their properties all at once have created a booming market for the devices, which run between $25 and $30 in retail stores.

"A very big demand," said Casey Hampton of Wilmar Industries in Aurora, which caters to multifamily complexes. "Like, huge."

He said he's sold 10,000 to apartment owners on the Front Range in the past month, and he just received a shipment of another 10,000.

"We can't keep them in stock," he said. "We're on back-order status."

Hampton said manufacturers haven't increased production as far as he knows, because there aren't many states facing a law change such as Colorado.

Terry Storm, chief executive officer of the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors, said he hasn't heard of shortages for homeowners who have listed their properties for sale. He noted that the Colorado Association of Realtors plans to post information on its Web site, www.coloradorealtors.com, on how to obtain a carbon-monoxide detector at a discount.

Several retail stores said they have detectors in stock and haven't noticed a run on them.

The law passed after Parker and Caroline Lofgren, of Denver, and their two children died of carbon-monoxide poisoning in an Aspen vacation home in November.

In December, Kelly Murphy, 22, of Manitou Springs, died of the same cause, and in January, the odorless gas killed University of Denver student Lauren Johnson.

Carbon monoxide also killed Colorado Springs chiropractor David Driscoll, 54, in his mountain cabin in Fairplay on March 21, days before Gov. Bill Ritter signed the bill into law.

Starting next month, the law requires carbon-monoxide detectors to be placed within 15 feet of bedrooms. Not included are existing homes that don't change hands, business offices and apartments with long-term residents.

"A lot of properties are going to install them all and be done with it to be on the safe side," said Laura Russmann, executive director of the Apartment Association of Colorado Springs, a trade organization for real-estate agents and homebuilders.

She said her organization fought such laws in the past because the housing industry questions how reliable detectors are.

"We supported it because it would be very unpopular not to after there were so many deaths, and you want to provide safety in housing," she said. "But they're not foolproof."

She said the expense isn't welcome during a recession, when some complex owners face financial pressure.

"Some of the big management companies that handle 5,000 units might get a quantity (price) break, but still, it's significant," Russmann said of the cost.

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