Fire Dept. issues CO detector warning

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Updated: March 10, 2012 8:18AM

The Western Springs Fire and Emergency Services Departmnet in warning residents about some carbon monoxide detectors that have an end-of-life signal.

Underwriters Laboratories standard UL 2034 establishes requirements that CO detectors produced after Aug. 1, 2009 to have an end-of-life signal that activates once the device reaches its projected end-of-life. The specific product life is based on the design of the device.

A CO detector has three signals — alarm, trouble, and end-of-life. Activation for a CO alarm would be a series of four rapid beeps followed by a 5-second pause and then repeating. A trouble signal, indicating some type of fault or low battery, is a 1/2 second beep every 30–60 seconds — just like a low battery on a smoke detector. The end-of-life signal may be a distinct signal, or the same signal as a trouble alarm, providing that there is a visual indicator on the CO detector to indicate that it is an end-of-life signal.

When an end-of-life signal is sounded, the CO detector must be replaced. This applies if the unit is a standalone CO detector, or in a combination unit with a smoke detector.

Since January 2007, it has been an Illinois law to have a working CO detector in all residences with battery power as the primary or secondary power supply.

Many CO detectors now in service were made prior to the incorporation of the new requirements and will not have an end-of-life signal. If a CO detector was manufactured prior to August 2009, or you cannot find a manufactured date (located on the outside back of the detector), consult any paperwork that came with the unit or research the company’s website.