Carbon Monoxide Alarms for Places of Assembly

By Penny Laughlin

In residences, carbon monoxide alarms and fire alarms go hand in hand. Not so much in commercial places of assembly… until now.

With a new change, the DOB is mandating carbon monoxide detector systems in all new buildings with assembly spaces. The logic is pretty straightforward – the DOB and the Mayor want to prevent needless exposure to carbon monoxide poisoning.

This new rule applies to restaurants, halls, meeting spaces and other types of areas that have an occupancy of 75 or more persons.

Surprisingly, there is an exception — existing buildings do not need to install the carbon monoxide detector until they replace their fire alarm system. Time will tell if this is too lenient of a requirement, as few buildings are racing to upgrade their fire alarm systems.