On July 7, 2025, I woke up to a text from our fire chief saying there had been a significant mass casualty call due to carbon monoxide poisoning at an apartment building in my district. My heart sank wondering what on earth could have happened. I was then told one person was dead and eleven more had to go to the hospital.
The last thing councilmembers want to hear is that there is loss of life anywhere in the city, but especially in your district and near your own neighborhood. I started asking questions about carbon monoxide. Why hadn’t the tenants been alerted? Why didn’t they get out in time? What in the world could have caused such a significant event? I didn’t know all the answers, but little by little, I found them out.
There are many things that happen in the city that as an elected official you have little to no power over. Oftentimes, people assume we can control everything. This situation left me feeling helpless. What in the world could I do in response? Is there anything that could have prevented this situation?
Our Public Safety Division and our Division of Housing Advocacy and Community Development went straight to work responding to the emergency and helping displaced residents find a place to stay and the resources they desperately needed. I am extremely proud of our response as a city to this tragedy. Still, as a representative for my district and the city, I wanted to do more.
After researching city law regarding requirements for carbon monoxide detectors, I realized that units built before 2011 did not require them, which includes a lot of the units in the neighborhoods I represent and the one where this emergency took place.
In January’s Social Services and Public Safety Committee, I will be proposing an ordinance as an update to our local fire prevention code that residential units, no matter the year they were built (excepting single or dual family homes), are required to have a working carbon monoxide detector.
In addition, single family homes with any gas-burning appliances or an attached garage will also be required to have a working carbon monoxide detector. This ordinance will apply to all existing dwellings meeting this criteria and any new construction. Home inspections will also require that a working carbon monoxide detector is present in the home before it is purchased by a new owner.
My hope is that this ordinance will go on to the full council and pass. Working with the Fire Department and Code Enforcement, my goal is to prevent future casualties due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Jennifer Reynolds is serving in her fourth term on Lexington’s City Council representing the 11th District, and is the Chair of the Social Services and Public Safety Committee.