Compliance with Washington State's requirement for residential carbon monoxide alarms

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in the US. In response, a majority of states have passed legislation in recent years requiring the installation of residential CO alarms. There is, however, no published information evaluating compliance with such laws. Employees of a Seattle medical center were surveyed in 2008 regarding home use of CO and smoke alarms. Washington State enacted legislation requiring residential CO alarms by all residences by January 1, 2013. The survey was repeated in mid-2016 to evaluate compliance. In 2016, a total of 354 employees completed the survey and their responses were compared to an equal number of 2008 survey respondents matched by home ownership and ZIP code. Residential CO alarm use rose from 37% to 78% (p < 0.0001). Among homeowners, 78% had alarms while 80% of renters had them. Homeowners with the highest compliance (96%) had purchased their homes since January 1, 2013 while those with the lowest compliance (73%) had purchased them earlier. A majority (79%) of renters without alarms reported the reason was that their landlord did not provide one, a violation of the law. Only one-half to two-thirds of all equipped homes had the required number of either CO or smoke alarms. Use of residential CO alarms increased significantly in this study population three years after law required them. Areas for further improvement include education of landlords, tenants, and longtime homeowners about the law, as well as public education regarding the number of CO and smoke alarms needed.