After carbon monoxide leak at Allentown day care, Pa. giving certified providers 2 free detectors

Pennsylvania is giving away two free carbon monoxide detectors to certified child care providers following a leak last fall that sickened children and adults at a center in Allentown.

Carbon monoxide detectors are currently not required for child care centers in Pennsylvania, despite repeated efforts by state legislators to change that.

On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services announced certified child care providers were sent a promotional code to purchase one or two carbon monoxide detectors from School Health.

The detectors are being paid for with federal child care funding and will be available through April 30.

"Because carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas, without detectors it is not possible to detect a leak before people start to feel sick," said Dr. Val Arkoosh, acting secretary of the human service department. "As the state works to update regulations to require this important safety mechanism be in place at our child care centers, this opportunity will help providers increase protections at their facility right away. I urge all providers to take advantage of this opportunity to get new carbon monoxide detectors to safeguard their staff and children in care."

Crews were called the morning of Oct. 11 for an unconscious child at Happy Smiles Learning Center in Allentown. As firefighters arrived, air quality detectors on their gear went off and they began to evacuate the building, officials previously said.

All told, nearly 30 children and five adults were taken to area hospitals for treatment. Lehigh Valley Heath Network said the patients it received suffered from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and had 3 to 10 times more than the normal level in their blood.

The cause was a malfunctioning heating unit and blocked venting system.

Since 2014, state Sen. Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny) has sought to add carbon monoxide detector requirements for various buildings, but the legislation has always stalled in committee.

State Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-Lehigh County, sponsored her own version of a bill last year, after a staffer went through a similarly horrific incident in April with her grandchildren, but that bill also stalled in committee.

The state Department of Human Services’ oversight extends to laws and regulations overseeing licensed facilities, and there's not currently a requirement for carbon monoxide detectors, spokesman Brandon Cwalina said.

The department is committed to working internally, as well as with the General Assembly, to explore regulatory or legislative changes, respectively, that address this issue and further protect children and support child care providers, he added.

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Sarah Cassi may be reached at [email protected].

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