Nick, you tell me, if that was your daughter buying that house out of town where you couldn't be there personally and you found out this water heater was left in service, how would you respond? Would you instruct your daughter to see her doctor to make sure she didn't have CO poisoning or permanent effects from it? What about children and elderly, who are more susceptible?

Bob, my response to my child would be "why on earth did you wait until 3 months after moving into the house to have anything done about an issue your inspector told you was a hazard? And where was your realtor in helping you decipher the important aspects of your home inspection report". Yes, I would be concerned for their well being as any parent should but I would still wonder why they neglected to take action on a stated hazardous situation.

It all comes down to personal accountability. We can lead our clients to water but we cannot make them drink. Plus, as generalist home inspectors, we are not in a position to shut down a system in a house every time we see something that prevents a possible hazard. Say for example we shut down a hot water boiler in a situation like David described in the orginating post of this thread. If the house is vacant and in a cold climate, imagine the pipes freeze and burst from lack of warm water in the pipes. Never mind the fact that the house is vacant, they'll come after the person who took it upon himself to shut down the heating system. "Thanks for looking out for our well being Mr. HI but your actions resulted in thousands of dollars in water damage to our property. Pay up."

Believe me Bob, I hear you and understand your stance. However, the client has to take on a level of responsibility. We can't save everybody from themselves. Whether it is my child or somebody elses' in this situation, they need to be accountable.