You can’t touch it, can’t taste it, can’t see it and you can’t smell it.  It’s a gas that can cause illness at low levels of exposure and can be fatal at high levels.  Symptoms can vary from person to person based on health, age and length of exposure. 

Do I own items that cause Carbon Monoxide?  Automobiles, wood-burning fireplaces, wood burning stoves, and gas stoves are sources.  Almost every home has an automobile so the the precautions are for a particular situation really.  We’ll get to that in a moment. 

With the exception of automobiles, if you own any of these other appliances, you should purchase a Carbon Monoxide detector for your home.  These detectors are designed to alert those in the home of the build up of Carbon Monoxide before the average adult would begin to experience symptoms.  One detector on every floor of the home is the ideal scenerio for protection. 

Now back to the topic of how automobiles can be a factor.  If you park your car in a garage the possibility exists of building up Carbon Monoxide in your home from the vehicle running inside the garage.  Don’t let your vehicle run inside the garage for more then a couple of seconds.  The longer the vehicle runs inside the garage, the greater the risk of Carbon Monoxide build up.  While the vehicle is running be sure to keep the garage door open.  Never start the vehicle or keep the vehicle running with the garage door closed.  Again, it’s important to have a Carbon Monoxide detector in the home to detect the build up of Carbon Monoxide from the exhaust. 

 My alarm is going off, what do I do?  Call 9-1-1 and evacuate the house.  The Fire Company will come out and check the house for the problem.  They will monitor the home with special equipment to try to pinpoint the source of the Carbon Monoxide.  If the source is detected the Fire Company will isolate it and advise you of the best solution to fix the problem.  The Fire Company doesn’t fix these problems but they’ll point you in the right direction to help you get in touch with the right people for the task.

 Questions about Carbon Monoxide?
Contact the Fire Commissioners Office.
737-2924