My condolences to the entire Bodeau family. This type of awful events can so easily be avoided by following the instructions in this article. Everyone get the word out!

I am fortunate to work at a company that makes CO alarms, and so I was able to test my home CO detector at work. I was surprised to discover that it no longer worked (it was at least 5 years old, probably more).

If you're in a situation where a conventional CO detector is not, or cannot, be installed, consider this product: http://www.detectcarbonmonoxide.com. My company's goal is to raise awareness about CO poisoning, and prevent more deaths that can be avoided.

As stated by your earlier contributor, we too would like to extend our condolences to the Bodeau family. Sadly tragic events such as these seem to become all too common. What is more concerning is that this terrible event could possibly have been avoided if Carbon Monoxide CO)alarm manufacturers provided unambiguous instructions in their literature regarding test and maintenance instructions for end users.

All CO alarm manufactuers state in their literature that units should be tested on a regular basis. Unfortunately, very few inform their customers that the only way to test the sensor is to use a calibrated CO alarm test gas. Presseing the 'Test Button' only tests the battery and does nothing to verify the functionality of one of the alarm's critical component, which is the sensor.

At present their are over 80 million CO detectors in the US. The maximum life of a CO detector on average is five years. Carbon monoxide alarms have been in the market since the early 1990's. Consequently it is estimated that there are at least 40 million alarms in the market that simply no longer work. Therefore, millions of consumers in the US have a false sense of security, because their units can't be relied upon.

We have been informed that Factory Mutual plan that a functional test of CO detectors shall be performed by the introduction of a calibrated CO test gas into the sensing chamber of the CO alarm. It is hoped that organisations such as UL and CSA will also provide guide lines to this effect.