An estimated 500 people die each year from carbon-monoxide (CO) poisoning, and approximately 15,000 others are sent to hospitals for treatment, according to an article in the Denver Post. Fairly affordable detectors can alert residents and building occupants of increased levels of the gas.

In 2007, a Colorado bill that would have required CO detectors in new multifamily housing construction and any home sold state-wide failed to make it out of the state senate. The Colorado Apartment Association opposed the bill, claiming installing detectors would present a financial hardship for its members.

Alarm prices range from around $10 for a basic model to $220 for one that flashes a strobe light when CO levels are high.