When I got home from the hospital after having Rhiannon, my mom,Dh, baby and I all had symptoms of CO poisoning. In our case we called the fire department and they told us there was nothing they could do, they didnt have a detector. We called our natural Gas provider and they came right out at 10 at night and did readings all over the house and sent us to the hospital. Luckily we were all okay after staying over night in oxygen including the 3 day old baby. Stacie

David - Effective 1 Jan 2011, CO detectors are required in new construction in NC. 2009 NC Residential Code R313 Carbon Monoxide Alarms. (090609 Item B-11) R313.1.1 Carbon monoxide alarms. In new construction, dwelling units shall be provided with an approved carbon monoxide alarm installed outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedroom(s) as directed by the alarm manufacturer. R313.1.2 Where required - existing dwellings. In existing dwellings, where interior alterations, repairs, fuel-fired appliance replacements, or additions requiring a permit occurs, or where one or more sleeping rooms are added or created, carbon monoxide alarms shall be provided in accordance with Section 313.1.1. R313.1.3 Alarm requirements. The required carbon monoxide alarms shall be audible in all bedrooms over background noise levels with all intervening doors closed. Single station carbon monoxide alarms shall be listed as complying with UL 2034 and shall be installed in accordance with this code and the manufacturer's installation instructions.

there is not a very big risk of carbon monoxide poisoning if you are burning wood, the house would be full of smoke by the time carbon monoxide levels would reach high enough to cause a concern, and like most sane people when a home is full of smoke, you realize there is a problem, long before anything elce happens. however if you are burning natural gas, which has quite oderless emissions, then co poisoning would be more of a concern. the reason prefab firplaces create a fire hazard is simply because they are junk, they don't have enough thermal mass to absorb high amounts of heat for long periods and they are designed to prevent a certain amound of heat transfer, however during long burn periods the heat continues to build up in the enclosed spaces surrounding your pre fab and can eventually reach temperitures to ignite the surrounding wood. wood stoves do not have this problem because they are usually out in the open heating room air, or they are sitting loosely inside a masonry firplace with high thermal mass. as i said prefab fireplaces are junk and i would never have one in my house (at least that i would use).

"Chicken Little thinking"? OK. Let me state it *this* way: If you have the gas range or oven going and you see a small number on your detector, for a short period of time, then don't be alarmed. If it was me, however, I'd have my gas kitchen appliances serviced to make sure that they are, indeed, "correctly operating appliances". I've never seen a reading on my CO detector while I was cooking. I'm not saying that it can't happen, it depends on placement and the sensitivity of your detector. I'm also in the habit of using my vent hood when I'm using my gas cooktop, as my hood seems to have a very quite motor. If, however, you get up one morning and notice a non-zero level of Carbon Monoxide, you *must* find and correct the cause. A previous poster gave some specific numbers that may lull the unsuspecting into a false sense of security, because the numbers are "low". If your gas furnace is emitting *any* level of CO into the living space, then something is dangerously wrong. The CO that your furnace produces should all be exhausted outdoors through the flue. I was simply trying to counter the specific numbers that were posted as "not harmful".