Craig A. Pedercini, Williamstown Fire District chief, shows some carbon monoxide detectors donated by Williams College to the Berkshire County Fire Chiefs Association. (Meghan Foley/North Adams Transcript)
By Meghan Foley
WILLIAMSTOWN -- In the midst of switching over to a hardwire carbon monoxide alarm system, Williams College faced the question of what to do with its over 500 battery-powered detectors.
The answer: Donate them to local fire departments to hand out to residents.
"We figured it was a good avenue to get them used as opposed to throwing them out," Joseph M. Moran, manager of safety and environmental compliance at Williams College, said Thursday.
He said state regulations for carbon monoxide detectors in large residential buildings were clarified to allow for a detector placed near fossil fuel-burning equipment so long as it was on a hard wire. As a result, the college was able to start installing a hardwire detection system this spring. All residential halls were online by June 30.
That left the college with a surplus of 520 battery-powered carbon monoxide detectors, which were installed in 2006 following former Governor Mitt Romney signing Nicole’s Law.
The law, which was signed in November 2005, requires property owners to install and maintain carbon monoxide detectors in all residential buildings.
Moran said in order be in compliance with the legislation, the college had to put a battery-powered carbon monoxide detector 10 feet from every bedroom door in a residence hall.
"It was a huge task for us, not only to install them, but to maintain them," he said.
Moran’s past experiences as a
volunteer firefighter and fire chief aided him in determining the fate of the detectors.
"The first thing I thought of was if there was a way to donate them to the fire chief’s association, and see if there was a way they could use them," he said. "This was an opportunity to put something out there and have it be really well used in houses and apartments lacking it."
Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas resulting from the incomplete burning of fossil fuels such as oil, wood and natural gas. It’s also poisonous and potentially deadly.
Craig A. Pedercini, Williamstown Fire District chief, said Thursday Moran asked him to ask members of the Berkshire County Fire Chiefs Association if they would be interested in receiving some carbon monoxide detectors that were no longer needed.
"That went over big," Pedercini said.
Carbon monoxide detectors average a seven-year life span before needing to be replaced.
Pedercini said several fire chiefs throughout Berkshire County have made requests to receive some of the detectors so they can make them available to residents who otherwise couldn’t afford the devices.
With 32 communities in Berkshire County, 520 carbon monoxide detectors will go fast, and Pedercini is trying to limit 20 to 40 detectors per department, but will distribute more if needed.
He said about 120 detectors were distributed at a Berkshire County Fire Chiefs Association meeting last month and he expected to distribute more at the association’s meeting Thursday night.
In Northern Berkshire, Florida Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Bedini has already received some detectors, and fire chiefs from North Adams, Savoy, Adams and Cheshire have made requests, Pedercini said.
"It’s just a matter of hooking up with the chiefs and getting the detectors to them," he said.
In Williamstown, the distribution of the donated carbon monoxide detectors will probably be handled on a case-by-case basis, Pedercini said.
"If we go into a residence that doesn’t have a carbon monoxide detector, install one, and somewhere down the road it alerts us to a carbon monoxide problem, it has done its job," he said.
To reach Meghan Foley, e-mail mfoley@thetranscript.com.
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