An Act To·Protect.Maine Residents from Home Fires and Carbon Monoxide
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0550
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: DIAMOND, SMITH, ALFOND, BARTLETT, BRYANT, GERZOFSKY, JACKSON, MARRACHE, CONNOR, PRESCOTT
Amends: 25 MRSA §2464, 25 MRSA §2468

FIRST REGULAR SJ£SSION..;2009 
Legislative Document 
No. 550 
S.P.212 
In Senate, February 12, 2009 
An Act To·Protect.Maine Residents from Home Fires and Carbon 
Monoxide 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Senator DIAMOND of Cumberland. 
Cosponsored by Representative SMITH of Monmouth and 
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JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senators: ALFOND of Cumberland, BARTLETT of Cumberland, BRYANT of Oxford, 
GERZOFSKY of Cumberland, JACKSON of Aroostook, MARRACHE of Kennebec, 
Representatives: CONNOR of Kennebunk, PRESCOTT of Topsham. 
Printed on recycled pilper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 25 MRSA §2464, s~b-§2, as amended by PL 1985, c. 190, is repealed and 
the following enacted in its place: ,-.' 
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2. Smoke detectors required.·· The owner shall properly install, or cause to be 
properly installed, smoke detectors in accordance with the National Electric Code and the 
manufacturer's requirements. In existing single-family dwellings, at least one smoke 
detector, which may be photoelectric, ionization or. a combination of both, must be 
installed in each area within, or giving access to, bedrool11s. These smoke detectors may 
be powered by the electrical service in the dwelling, by battery or by a combination of 
both. Any smoke detector located within 20 feet of a kitchen or a bathroom containing a 
tub or shower must be a photoelectric-type smoke detector. 
After October 3 ( 2009, smoke detectors installed in a multifa~ily building or a newly 
constructed single-family dwelling must be of the photoelectric-only type and must be 
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powered both by the electrical service in the building or dwelling and by battery .. 
Sec. 2.25 MRSA §2464, sub~§6, as enacted by PL 1981; c. 399, §1, is amended 
to read: 
6. 
Liability. Nothing in this section. gives rise to any action against an owner 
required to cOl11ply with subsection 2, paragraph B, or subsection 9, paragraph A if the 
owner has conducted an inspection of the required smoke detectors immediately after 
installation and has reinspected the smoke detectors prior to occupancy by each new 
tenant, unless the owner has been given at least 24 hours' 24 hours' actual notice of a 
defect or failure of the smoke detector to operate properly and has failed to take action to 
correct the defect or failure. 
Sec. 3. 25 MRSA §2464, sub-§9 is enacted to read: 
9. Rental units. In an apartment occupied under the terms of a rental agreement or 
under a month-to-month tenancy: 
A. At the time of each occupancy, the landlord shall provide smoke detectors. The 
smoke detectors must be in working condition. After notification of any deficiencies 
by the tenant, the landlord shall repair or replace the smoke detectors. If the landlord 
did not know and had not been notified of the need to repair or replace a smoke 
detector, the landlord's failure to repair or replace the smoke detector may not be 
considered as evidence of negligence in a subsequent civil action arising from death, 
property loss or personal injury; and 
B. 
The tenant shall keep the smoke detectors in working condition by keeping 
charged batteries in battery-operated smoke detectors, if possible, by testing the 
smoke detectors periodically, if possible, and by refraining from pemianently 
disabling the smoke detectors. . . . 
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Sec.4. 25 MRS A §2464, sub-§10 is enacted to read: 
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10. Transfer of dwelling. A person who, after October 31, 2009, transfers by sale 
or exchange a single-family dwelling or a multiapartment building shall certify to the 
buyer at the closing of the transaction that the dwelling or each apartment in the building 
is provided with smoke detectors in accordance with this section. This certification must 
be signed and dated by the seller. 
If the buyer notifies the seller within 10 days by certified mail from the date of 
conveyance of the dwelling or building that the dwelling or an apartment in the building 
lacks any smoke detectors or that any smoke detectors are not operable, the seller shall 
install smoke detectors in compliance with this section within 10 days after notification. 
Violation of this subsection does not create a defect in title. 
Sec. 5. 25 MRSA §2468 is enacted to read: 
§2468. Carbon monoxide detectors 
1. Definition. "Carbon monoxide detector" means a device with an assembly that 
incorporates a sensor control component and an alarm notification that detects elevations 
in carbon monoxide levels and sounds a warning alarm and is approved or listed for the 
purpose by a nationally recognized independent testing laboratory. 
2. Carbon monoxide detectors required. The owner shall install, or cause to be 
installed, by the manufacturer's requirements' at 'least one approved carbon monoxide 
detector upon or near the ceiling or floor in each area within, or giving access to, 
bedrooms in: 
A. Each apartment in any building of multifamily occupancy; 
B. Any addition to or restoration of an existing single-family dwelling that adds at 
least one bedroom to the dwelling unit; and 
C. Any conversion of a building to a single-family dwelling. 
A carbon monoxide detector must be powered both by the electrical service in the 
building or dwelling and by battery. 
3. MuItiapartment buildings. In multiapartment buildings more than 3 stories iI1 
height, the owner shall install, or cause to be installed, approved carbon monoxide 
detectors in each corridor and hallway on each floor in addition to the carbon monoxide 
detectors required under subsection 2. 
4. Carbon monoxide detectors for persons with disabilities. Upon the request of 
a deaf or hard-of-hearing occupant, the owner of a dwelling unit shall provide an 
approved carbon monoxide detector suitable to warn the occupant within the dwelling 
unit. If the owner does not provide a suitable carbon monoxide detector, the occupant 
may purchase, install and maintain a suitable carbon monoxide detector or arrange for 
proper installation and maintenance of a suitable carbon monoxide detector and may 
deduct the actual costs from the rent for the dwelling unit. An occupant may not be 
charged, evicted or penalized in any way for failure to pay the actual costs deducted from 
the rent for the dwelling unit. 
5. New construction. A person who constructs a single-family dwelling shall install 
at least one carbon monoxide detector upon or near the ceiling or floor· in each area 
within, or giving access to, any bedroom in the dwelling. The carbon monoxide detector 
must be powered both by the electrical service in the dwelling and by battery. 
6. Rental units. In an apartment occupied under the terms of a rental agreement or 
under a month-to-month tenancy: 
A. 
At the time of each occupancy, the landlord shall provide carbon monoxide 
detectors .. The carbon monoxide detectors must be in working condition. After 
notification of any deficiencies by the tenant, the landlord shall repair or replace the 
carbon monoxide detectors. If the landlord did not know and had not been notified of 
the need to repair or replace a carbon monoxide detector, the landlord's failure to 
repair or replace the carbon monoxide detector may not be considered as evidence of 
negligence in a subsequent civil action arising from death, property loss or personal 
injury; and 
B. The tenant shall keep the carbon monoxide detectors in working condition by 
keeping charged batteries in battery-operated carbon monoxide detectors, if possible, 
by testing the carbon monoxide detectors periodically, if possible, and by refraining 
from permanently disabling the carbon monoxide detectors. 
7. Transfer of dwelling. A person who transfers by sale or exchange a single-
family dwelling or a multiapartment building shall certify to the buyer at the closing of 
the transaction that the dwelling or each apartment in the building is provided with at 
least one carbon monoxide detector in accordance with this section. This certification 
must be signed and dated by the seller. 
If the buyer notifies the seller within 10 days by certified mail from the date of 
conveyance of the dwelling or building that the dwelling or an apartment in the building 
lacks a carbon monoxide detector or that the carbon monoxide detector is not operable, 
the seller shall install a carbon monoxide detector in compliance with this section within 
days after notification. 
Violation of this paragraph does not create a defect in title. 
8. Rules. The Commissioner of Public Safety or the commissioner's designee, in 
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. accordance with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, shall· adopt rules pertaining to 
carbon monoxide detectors. 
The rules adopted must include, but are not limited to, 
standards for approved carbon monoxide detectors and all requirements of use, 
maintenance and installation. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter t .. A. 
9. Penalties. A person who violates this section is guilty of a civil violation and is 
subject to a fine of not more than $500 for each violation. The court may waive any 
penalty or cost against any violator upon satisfactory proof that the violation was 
corrected within 10 days of the issuance of a complaint. 
10. Liability. Nothing in this section gives rise to any action against an owner 
required to comply with subsection 2, paragraph A or subsection 6, paragraph A if the 
owner has conducted an inspection of the required carbon monoxide detectors 
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immediately after installation and has reinspected the carbon monoxide detectors prior to 
occupancy by each new tenant, unless the owner has been given at least 24 hours' actual 
notice of a defect or failure of the carbon monoxide detector to operate properly and has 
failed to take action to correct the defect or failure. 
11. 
Noninterference. 
A person may not knowingly interfere with or make 
inoperative any carbon monoxide detector required by this section, except that the owner 
or the agent of an owner of a building may temporarily disconnect a carbon monoxide 
detector in a dwelling unit or common area only for construction or rehabilitation 
activities when such activities are likely to activate the carbon monoxide detector or make 
it inactive. 
The carbon monoxide detector must be immediately reconnected at the 
cessation of construction or rehabilitation activities each day, regardless of the intent to 
return to construction or rehabilitation activities on succeedin~ 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires that all single-family dwellings and multiapartment buildings sold 
in the State and newly constructed single-family dwellings have photoelectric-only-type 
smoke detectors and at least one carbon monoxide detector in an area within or giving 
access to a bedroom. The detectors in multifamily dwellings and newly constructed 
single-family dwellings must be powered by both the electrical service in the building 
and by battery.