The Public Safety Committee of the Atlanta City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to put carbon monoxide detectors in all public buildings and schools. The recommendation will require passage by the full council. City attorneys are also determining whether the city has the legal authority to require the detectors in Atlanta Public Schools.
The recommendation follows an incident at Finch Elementary School Dec. 3 when maintenance workers left a valve closed on the school furnace and that caused a carbon monoxide leak in the school. More than 40 children and 10 adults were taken to the hospital. The school was closed several days and carbon monoxide detectors were installed before it was reopened.
Atlanta Public Schools superintendent Erroll Davis said then the district was exploring the cost and feasibility of installing detectors in all APS schools. Georgia law does not require carbon monoxide detectors in buildings. What is not clear is how much authority the city has to require them.
Councilman Michael Bond told WSB Tuesday night before the meeting that SPLOST funding would be used to pay for the detectors and Home Depot has committed to donating 300 detectors to APS.
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