BY JACQUELINE R. WILMOT, P.E. Being raised by a volunteer firefighter, I was taught at a young age to always look for my 2nd exit, and when traveling to never to stay above the 4th floor because fire department ladders rarely reach above the fourth floor. It was also pretty “normal” for us to travel with a portable Carbon Monoxide (CO) detector. Why? Because CO poisoning incidents in hotels are not uncommon and regulations on CO detection differ significantly from state to state. While there are multiple sources which provide CO incident data, each organization contains its own methodology for collecting information and providing statistics; However, it is not clear what specific information is being collected, disseminated, and represented for each incident type. The Fire Protection Research Foundation recently published a report titled: “Carbon Monoxide Incidents: A Review of the Data Landscape” which reviews and presents the CO incident data landscape to clarify the sources of information, how the data is compiled and what the data represents. Additionally, the report identifies, summarized, and analyzes case studies of non-fire carbon monoxide incidents specific to commercial-type occupancies to provide a greater understanding to the NFPA technical committees responsible for NFPA 101, Life Safety Code ® and NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code ®. Be on the lookout for the Second Draft Reports from these committees in February of 2023 to see what changes have been made. A one-page summary of the Foundation report provides key takeaways. PS: If your CO detector is your in carry-on bag, be sure you can access it quickly while going through TSA security, as mine is always “inspected”! Important Notice: Any opinion expressed in this column (blog, article) is the opinion of the author and does not necessarily represent the official position of NFPA or its Technical Committees. In addition, this piece is neither intended, nor should it be relied upon, to provide professional consultation or services. TOPICS: Research, Building & Life Safety, Fire Protection Systems JACQUELINE R. WILMOT, P.E. Research Project Manager, Fire Protection Research Foundation, the research affiliate of NFPA https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Publications-and-media/Blogs-Landing-Page/NFPA-Today/Blog-Posts/2022/11/08/Do-You-Travel-with-a-Portable-CO-Detector-If-not-you-should-and-heres-why