Deaths Could Have Been Prevented

On Dec. 17, 2006, seven members of the Kirksville population lost their lives because the duplex they rented did not have a carbon monoxide detector.

These deaths could have - and should have - been prevented.Almost three years ago, the Kirksville City Council passed a piece of legislation known as the Rental Housing Ordinance, which required all landlords in Kirksville to have their rental property inspected by city codes officials. Inspectors would have helped ensure that all rental units met certain safety standards. One precaution inspectors would have checked for was carbon monoxide detectors. The now-defunct Rental

Housing Ordinance ultimately came about after six Truman students were hospitalized in 2002 from exposure to dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide in their rental house, which did not have a carbon monoxide detector. Columbia, Mo., also has a similar city rental safety ordinance, passed more than 15 years ago after a college student there died of carbon monoxide poisoning.