AKRON, Ohio — Almost every day in the city of Akron, firefighters visit neighborhoods and install smoke detectors.
But even after a 66-year-old grandmother died at the Timber Top apartment complex last October, prompting a change in carbon monoxide detector laws in the city, financing still makes it difficult to install the needed carbon monoxide detectors throughout the city.
As Akron Fire Chief Joseph Natko points out, one carbon monoxide detector costs about the same as three to four smoke detectors.
While there's a relationship in place with the American Red Cross to fund and distribute smoke detectors, there's no such apparatus in place for carbon monoxide detectors.
"We don’t have a medium or contact that will vet that out and be that tool where we go out and install them," he said.
Natko told News 5 the department is actively looking to change that with the hope that carbon monoxide detectors will get the same attention as their emergency counterpart.
Back in October, firefighters found a defective boiler was behind the extremely high levels of carbon monoxide inside a Timer Top apartment building, killing a 66-year-old woman.
The Ohio Fire Code added requirements pertaining to carbon monoxide detectors in 2017. While communities recognize Ohio Fire Code, every time something new gets added to the code, communities need to formally adopt that change.
Last November, Akron City Council unanimously voted on an ordinance that requires carbon monoxide detectors in apartments and gives the Akron Fire Department and the Department of Neighborhood Assistance the authority to inspect buildings for CO detectors like they currently do with smoke alarms.
RELATED: Carbon monoxide detectors now required in residential buildings in Akron
Since then, Natko said the department has inspected more than 1400 units across the city, with another nearly 300 scheduled.
"It wasn’t a focus for them but now we see the landlords stepping up and doing what they need to for the most part," he said.
Not without a few repeat visits though.
"We’ll issue a citation and go back in 30 days," Natko said. "If it’s still not compliant, we’ll go back again in 30 days. Then we need to talk about referring this to the law department and follow legal action for noncompliance."
Carbon monoxide can come from all sorts of sources including clothes dryers, water heaters, furnaces or boiler, fireplaces, gas stoves or oven, grills, generators, and cars.
Clay LePard is a special projects reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter @ClayLePard or on Facebook Clay LePard News 5.
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