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Ocean City, MD, May Revisit CO Ordinance due to Non-Compliance

Elected officials Ocean City, MD, say they'll take another look at the law that mandates carbon monoxide detectors for resort hotels, condominiums and other multiunit dwellings, with an emphasis on compliance from property owners.

"We just need to make sure that everyone out there knows the law and follows the law," said Council President Joe Mitrecic. "If we have to start inspections, then we have to start charging -- that's not what I want to do. We need to get the owners of these buildings to start complying. Other than going room to room in the entire town, I don't know what else we could do to make them comply."

Mitrecic said the law passed in 2007 --created in the aftermath of a 2006 incident that left two tourists dead from carbon monoxide poisoning in a hotel room --is "the right ordinance."

He called hotel owners that don't install CO detectors "penny-wise and pound-foolish."

"If something goes wrong, it could cost them a lot more in the long run. It could cost them millions," he said of possible lawsuit settlements.

The hot-button issue arose Aug. 11 when the seven-story, 94-room Americana Hotel was evacuated for a carbon monoxide leak that sent three people to the hospital and sickened many others.

Ocean City Fire Marshal Sam Villani closed the Boardwalk hotel for occupancy pending an ongoing investigation that is still searching for the source of the leak.

Mayor Rick Meehan agreed the CO law is "strong, as written," but said officials may need to add some measures to check for compliance. The law already requires buildings with fuel-burning appliances to send a document of certification to the Fire Marshal's Office that CO detectors have been installed.

Neither the Americana nor the El Capitan condo, another Boardwalk property evacuated for a leak earlier this summer, had CO detectors installed.

Meehan said he believes the lack of detectors was "the exception, not the rule. But nonetheless, it's a serious problem even if a few haven't complied."

"It would be impossible to check everybody in one week. We have to be realistic, but we have to be direct and we want to be firm, and we want to get it done," he added.

Meehan also noted the dispatcher who took the call for sick guests that brought firefighters to the Americana had alerted crews to be on the lookout for a possible CO leak, based on victims' symptoms.



"Right away, we were prepared to address what could have been a problem under any circumstances, and I think that's important for the public to know." Meehan said.

Fire officials will meet with the council Sept. 1 to review the issue. It's a meeting to which Councilman Jim Hall is looking forward.

"I'm very concerned about it," he said. "It's a high priority for me to find out what happened at (the Americana) Hotel and make sure this never happens again. Three incidents is too much. I want to understand it, I want to learn from the fire marshal and the safety folks what went wrong, what could go wrong and what we can do to correct the situation to make sure this never happens again."

Councilwoman Mary Knight said she's displeased that some hotels still haven't installed CO detectors, despite a February deadline.

"Honestly, I'm very, very disappointed that the Americana had two years to do what we asked them to do and they didn't do it," she said.

"Right now the ordinance says you only need these detectors adjacent to the room where the source is," she added. "We very well may add some more stringent specifications. Every single room may need to be equipped with a CO detector."

Knight also said the town and the state are among the few states and municipalities that require CO detectors. For that reason, Knight said she and her husband always pack a portable CO detector when they travel.

Councilman Lloyd Martin said when the ordinance was passed, the council took property owners on good faith that they'd comply.

"But as it goes through, it sounds like some people didn't do it," he said. "So you have to give (the law) some more teeth. That's where we need to put it. With six people in the Fire Marshal's Office, you can't do inspecting of 30,000 units. We just don't have the manpower."

Martin suggested bringing in a third-party inspector to check for CO detectors at the same time hotels are checked for fire alarms and sprinklers.

"I don't think we can physically do all the buildings in a timely manner ourselves," he said. "Some of these places have to be inspected three times a year. Just add CO to the list of things they do every year, or bi-annually, as needed. To me, that's the easiest way, because these people are already in the buildings and their report has to go to the Fire Marshal's Office anyway."

Meehan also noted the dispatcher who took the call for sick guests that brought firefighters to the Americana had alerted crews to be on the lookout for a possible CO leak, based on victims' symptoms.

"Right away, we were prepared to address what could have been a problem under any circumstances, and I think that's important for the public to know." Meehan said.

Fire officials will meet with the council Sept. 1 to review the issue. It's a meeting to which Councilman Jim Hall is looking forward.

"I'm very concerned about it," he said. "It's a high priority for me to find out what happened at (the Americana) Hotel and make sure this never happens again. Three incidents is too much. I want to understand it, I want to learn from the fire marshal and the safety folks what went wrong, what could go wrong and what we can do to correct the situation to make sure this never happens again."

Councilwoman Mary Knight said she's displeased that some hotels still haven't installed CO detectors, despite a February deadline.

"Honestly, I'm very, very disappointed that the Americana had two years to do what we asked them to do and they didn't do it," she said.

"Right now the ordinance says you only need these detectors adjacent to the room where the source is," she added. "We very well may add some more stringent specifications. Every single room may need to be equipped with a CO detector."

Knight also said the town and the state are among the few states and municipalities that require CO detectors. For that reason, Knight said she and her husband always pack a portable CO detector when they travel.

Councilman Lloyd Martin said when the ordinance was passed, the council took property owners on good faith that they'd comply.

"But as it goes through, it sounds like some people didn't do it," he said. "So you have to give (the law) some more teeth. That's where we need to put it. With six people in the Fire Marshal's Office, you can't do inspecting of 30,000 units. We just don't have the manpower."

Martin suggested bringing in a third-party inspector to check for CO detectors at the same time hotels are checked for fire alarms and sprinklers.

"I don't think we can physically do all the buildings in a timely manner ourselves," he said. "Some of these places have to be inspected three times a year. Just add CO to the list of things they do every year, or bi-annually, as needed. To me, that's the easiest way, because these people are already in the buildings and their report has to go to the Fire Marshal's Office anyway."