The detectors will be required in rooms of certain buildings that have appliances fueled by propane, natural gas or liquified petroleum gas inside.
State officials like Maine State Fire Marshal Joseph Thomas say that, had the law been enacted in 2019, it may not have prevented the explosion, death and injury. Instead, he believes the device would have provided first responders with additional information that would have been useful as they made decisions about where to be and when while investigating the source of the propane leak inside the building.
While Larry Lord, an employee who evacuated the building initially on the morning of the explosion reported smelling propane, Thomas says that local first responders his department spoke with recalled that the"rotten egg" odor of the additive in propane that alerts people to its presence was not detected as strongly when they were there.