Fire chief: Don't ignore CO alarms

Treat every alarm as real,” said Hills area fire chief Jared Rozeboom.
A Hills family avoided possible carbon monoxide poisoning, thanks to a CO detector’s alarm.
On Wednesday, April 5, the Hills Area Volunteer Fire Department received a call from a building contractor who was working in a Hills resident’s home.
The homeowner was concerned enough to call the contractor about the alarm.
“The contractor thought maybe it was dust and humidity that was affecting the alarm, but wanted us to check to be for sure,” Rozeboom said.
“Upon entry, our gas monitor went into alarm mode and indicated elevated levels of CO.”
The home’s heating system was the source of the carbon monoxide.
No one was injured or hurt from breathing in CO produced during the furnace’s burning of fossil fuel.
“These stories don’t make the headlines or even the local town gossip,” Rozeboom said. “I wanted to draw your attention to a few things that kept this story from becoming a tragedy.”
Rozeboom said there were two reasons last week’s incident didn’t have a tragic ending.
First, the home had multiple working carbon monoxide detectors.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, tasteless toxic gas that is released in the process of burning fossil fuels when not enough oxygen is present for efficient burning.
“With propane and natural gas becoming so prevalent in our communities for heating and cooking, it is only a matter of time before many of us encounter CO in our homes,” he said.
The second reason was the homeowner and contractor took action and called the fire department when the CO alarm sounded.
“One can only fathom the tragedy that could have unfolded over the next few hours as the family went to bed, unaware that a ‘silent killer’ awaited them,” Rozeboom said.
The first signs of carbon monoxide poisoning are subtle.
Flu-like symptoms —mild headaches, dizziness, fatigue or nausea — are the first poisoning effects that lead to confusion, irritability, impaired judgment and memory and coordination issues.
Carbon monoxide affects people differently depending on gas concentrations, exposure levels and health status.
“If early signs are ignored, a person may lose consciousness and be unable to escape danger,” Rozeboom said.
When the detector indicated carbon monoxide in the home, Hills volunteer firefighters immediately opened doors and windows to remove the gas. The family was displaced from the home until the furnace was fixed.
Rozeboom recommends these safety measures for all residents:
•Install multiple carbon dioxide detectors with constant digital level readouts. Don’t choose devices with combined smoke and CO detection.
“The readout indicates how many parts per million are in the atmosphere. If the digital readout begins to show even minor levels of CO, something is wrong,” Rozeboom said.
•Test the devices monthly and replace the entire device every seven years, or as often as the manufacturer recommends. Change batteries twice a year in battery-powered detectors.
•Take action when the alarm sounds and evacuate everyone from the home immediately, leaving the door open on the way out of the house. Call 9-1-1 from a neighbor’s home or a cell phone once safely outside.
“By sharing this story, we hope you will take these simple steps to protect yourself and your family from a very real danger of exposure to CO,” Rozeboom said.
“This story could have had a much different outcome, but because of a working CO alarm and the actions of a few people, this was a tragedy averted.”