Branstad signs bill mandating carbon monoxide detectors by 2018

DES MOINES - A Colorado couple whose daughter died of carbon monoxide poisoning in 2009 was on hand Thursday to thank the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Terry Branstad for enacting a law that will require carbon monoxide alarms in Iowa rental units and newly built homes beginning in July 2018.

'Carbon monoxide is an insidious, silent killer that can sneak up and kill you before you even know what happened,” said Don Johnson, who lobbied on behalf of Senate File 2219 and was present with his wife, Carol, to witness Branstad sign the bill. 'The carbon monoxide alarms are such an easy fix and inexpensive. One CO alarm for $50 can last for 10 years with no batteries to replace in the newest technology.”

The new law will require all apartments, rental properties and multiunit dwellings, as well as newly built homes, to have carbon monoxide detectors in addition to traditional smoke alarms beginning in July 2018. Voluntary compliance will be used to encourage homeowners to adopt the protection.

The Johnsons have made it their personal mission to get such laws enacted since they lost their daughter, Lauren, who was 26 when she was overcome by fumes and died in a Denver apartment due to a faulty roof vent that created a carbon monoxide issue. The problem also affected, but did not kill, another resident.

'She was an amazing young person. She wanted to make the world a better place, so what we have tried to do is just that,” said Don Johnson, formerly of Ellsworth, who was overcome with emotion on several occasions while talking about his daughter.

'A few dollars from her father, had he been smart enough to think about it without a law to tell him,” he told reporters, 'I'll go to my grave disappointed in myself that I didn't have the wisdom to think that through, because she was an incredibly gifted human being.”

After their daughter's accidental poisoning, the couple began Lauren's Project (laurensproject.org) to help prevent other deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.

'Common-sense” laws like the one passed in Iowa and three other states where he has taken his message are intended to inform people about a fairly inexpensive way to protect their families and loved ones, he said. More than 30 U.S. states now require carbon monoxide alarms in homes and apartments.

Branstad, who thanked the Johnsons for their dedication and for traveling to Iowa for Thursday's bill-signing ceremony, said each year hundreds of Iowans are treated in emergency rooms and about 20 Iowans die annually from carbon monoxide poisoning. He called the bill 'an important piece of legislation that will make a real difference.”

The Johnsons told Branstad their next stop is to push North Dakota lawmakers to take similar action.