Happy July 1st everyone – it's personally the day I've been waiting for since February 2020 – carbon monoxide detection is now REQUIRED in Virginia schools and daycares, regardless of the year built.
The good news: Every educational or daycare occupancy in the state is required to have at least one working detection device on site, all day, every day, all year.
The bad news: One detection device ain't going to cut it folks.
Here's how you can help schools in your area do more than the minimum requirement:
Supply a portable, carbon monoxide meter that maintenance staff can wear on them at all times. While it won't alert, it will measure – and indicate far earlier than an alarm when there is presence of CO in their immediate area.
Sponsor a plug-in, battery backup, low-level CO alarm for your child's classroom, lunch area, gymnasium or gathering space. Currently, schools are allowed to determine where they place their newly required alarms – which will leave hundreds of occupants unprotected at any given time.
Ask a local business to sponsor CO detection for the school as a whole – you could even break this up to multiple businesses and get a school fully protected.
Connect your teachers, school administrators, school board members to our website – and the downloadable resources that can educate them, and guide them on best practices as it relates to Carbon Monoxide Protection in Schools.