On June 5, the state Department of Community Affairs adopted regulations requiring the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in all buildings, including schools, where there is a fuel-burning appliance or an attached garage. Compliance is required by September 3, 2017.
The regulations will implement a statute enacted in November 2015, which expands the requirement to install carbon monoxide detection equipment to all multi-unit private structures, as well as commercial and public buildings including schools. (See earlier report in School Board Notes.)
Called the “Korman and Park’s Law,” the statute, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-123f, is named for Noel Korman, a champion skateboarder, and his friend Alice Park, who were victims of carbon monoxide poisoning in a Passaic building that contained multiple art studios and rehearsal spaces.
The regulations will allow public schools to comply with the law through the use of battery-operated carbon monoxide detectors. Systems using detectors shall have a distinct visual and audible notification. When alarms are installed in lieu of detectors, they shall be located such that the audible signal is not less than 15 decibels (dB) above the average ambient sound level. Carbon monoxide detectors or alarms shall be installed in the immediate vicinity of all potential source(s) of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide alarms may be battery operated, hard-wired or of the plug-in type. Carbon monoxide detection equipment shall not be required in locations such as repair garages, where the presence of carbon monoxide may be expected as a function of the normal use of the space. In such locations, carbon monoxide detection equipment shall be provided just outside such spaces at the points where these spaces connect to other occupiable spaces.
NJSBA urges districts to consult with their board attorney or local fire inspector concerning these requirements.