Pelham Fire Department
Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Each year hundreds of people die from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Many of these deaths could have been prevented by installing CO alarms in the home. CO is an invisible, odourless gas that is produced by burning wood, coal, charcoal, naturalgas, gasoline, propane, oil methane and other common fuels. CO is also produced by automobiles and other gasoline or diesel engines. Electrical equipment does not produce carbon monoxide.
CO enters your body, undetected, through your breathing. CO poisoning can be confused with the flu, food poisoning, or other illnesses. Symptoms include headache, nausea, dizziness, light-headedness, or shortness of breath. High levels of CO can cause death within just a few minutes. A person can be poisoned by a small amount of CO over a longer period of time or by a large amount of CO over a shorter amount of time.
Carbon monoxide alarms are not substitutes for smoke alarms. Know the difference between the sound of a smoke alarm and the sound of a CO alarm.
CO alarms can be battery-powered, plugged into an outlet, or hard-wired into a home’s electrical system. Buy only CO alarms that bear the label of an independent testing laboratory. Install a CO alarm in a central location outside your home’s sleeping areas. If sleeping areas are spaced far apart, each area will need a CO alarm.
If the CO warning signal sounds, immediately go to a fresh air location and call for help (911). Stay at the fresh air location until emergency personnel tell you it is safe. If the trouble signal sounds, check for low batteries or other problems.
When you are buying home heating or cooling equipment, purchase only products that bear the label of an independent testing laboratory. Have all fuel-burning appliances (furnaces, stoves, space heaters, dryers and water heaters) professionally installed and maintained. If you need to warm a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Do not run a vehicle, generator, or other fuelled engine or motor indoors, even if the garage doors are open. Make sure the exhaust pipe of a running vehicle is not covered with snow. Never use your oven to heat your home. Make sure your wood- or coal-burning stove is properly ventilated directly into your chimney flue. Maintain your stove and adjust the draft so that the wood and coal burns efficiently.