An invisible killer took the lives of Patty Hekenberger?s
mother- and father-in-law when the couple was killed in their Chetek, Wis.
cabin after it filled with carbon monoxide.

On Monday, 200 carbon monoxide detectors were donated to the
Salem Fire Department in conjunction with announcement of the carbon monoxide legislation
Hekenberger helped craft after the August 2002 accident.

Sen. Bob Wirch, D-Pleasant Prairie and Rep. Samantha
Kerkman, R-Randall, introduced the legislation, which would require all
residential buildings with fuel-burning appliances to install carbon monoxide
detectors.

?It?s an odorless, tasteless gas, and when you?re out in a
lodging establishment, you expect that as many safety precautions have been
taken when you?re staying at a hotel or motel, or if you?re renting an
apartment,? Kerkman said.

Hekenberger began working with Wirch and Kerkman in January
2003 to develop legislation that would require hotels, motels, cabins and
rental apartments to have carbon monoxide detectors.

The bill has been rewritten several times, Hekenberger said,
to make sure all parties agree with the language. She testified for the bill
when it was finished.

The bill was passed
unanimously through committee last week. It is scheduled tentatively for debate
on the Senate floor this Thursday, according to Kerkman.

If it passes in the
Senate, it will then move on to an Assembly committee for discussion. The law
would take effect six months after being passed by both houses.

Work on the bill done by Hekenberger also spurred the
donation of carbon monoxide detectors to the fire department by the Kidde
Corporation. The fire department can distribute the detectors at their
discretion.

?We feel this is a positive step in the right direction for
the safety of the public,? Salem Fire Chief Mike Slover said. ?If people are in
need of a carbon monoxide detector, especially this time of year when heaters
are in use, this can be one of those things that we can provide. We can make
sure they?re installed correctly and give a little education to the homeowner
in regard to maintenance.?

Hekenberger was very pleased with the donation and wants to
see several of the 200 detectors installed at a Salvation Army camp in her area.

?I thought they?d only get 50, so when I found out today it
was 200, I was like, ?Holy cow!?? Hekenberger said.