Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
While carbon monoxide is not directly related to fire safety, it’s worth providing some details on the danger since this site deals with most of the direct causes of carbon monoxide poisoning: fuel burning appliances like generators and portable heaters, gas ranges and water heaters, wood-burning furnaces or fireplaces, automotive engines and charcoal grills. Carbon monoxide is created when these fuels burn incompletely. In addition, we’ve tried to make you aware of the value of a smoke alarm. One more alarm, for the build up of carbon monoxide, is also a life saver.
For those who live in homes with natural gas or propane appliances, you are familiar with the odor of those gases, some normal, others added so they can be detected when gas is released but not ignited. The danger is that odorless carbon monoxide cannot be detected until occupants of the home become ill or the alarm sounds.
The best way to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning is to follow these guidelines:
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Do not run your car engine in a garage. It does not matter if that garage is attached to the home or the garage door is left open. If you have to work on your car and need the engine running, move the car outside.
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Do not use charcoal grills, camp stoves or other heating/cooking appliances intended for use outdoors in the home or an enclosed area. Do not use your oven to heat the home.
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If you use a generator during power outages, run the generator outdoors.
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For homes with fireplaces or wood burning stoves, make sure there is good ventilation in the home and the stove’s door closes completely.
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Have a professional check all fuel burning appliances, furnaces, venting and chimney systems once a year. That inspection should take place in the fall, before we start closing our windows and doors against the cold or use our heating systems.
Symptoms
The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are similar to the flu: headache, dizziness, nausea, fatigue and disorientation. We’ve all heard the news stories of families who sent their children to bed with what was thought to be the flu only to realize too late the problem was much more severe. We’ve also heard stories of entire families stricken with no one realizing what was actually happening because of disorientation.
Carbon Monoxide Alarms
The only fail-safe way to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, especially in cold climates where homes are shut up tight, is with a CO alarm. The UL listed alarm should be installed near the sleeping areas where normal air flow is not restrained. Make sure the alarm meets the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) standard 2034 as well as the requirements of the IAS 6-96 standard.
Everyone is at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning. Those at special risk are unborn and newborn infants and children, and elderly people with heart or lung problems. A carbon monoxide alarm is designed to go off when the gas reaches levels where a healthy adult would begin to experience symptoms. Therefore, the alarm could go off before the home’s occupants actually experience illness. If that’s the case, turn off all appliances and sources of combustion, open doors and windows to bring fresh air into the house and call a qualified professional to determine the source of carbon monoxide build up.
If the alarm goes off and any member of the household has flu-like symptoms, evacuate everyone immediately. Call emergency services and explain the situation and the number of ill people and their symptoms. Do not go back into the home until it has been cleared by the fire department. Have a professional repair the source of carbon monoxide.
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