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Carbon Monoxide detectors
All,
This morning my fire dept was dispatched to a carbon monoxide incident. We had 8 people sent to the hospital and one fatality. I am asking that everyone check their Carbon Monoxide detectors,replace batteries, if they are too old, replace them. And if you do not have one, get one! They are a cheap insurance policy and could easily have kept an incident like this from occuring.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Brian Dumser on
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Change the batteries in your smoke detectors and CO detectors every 6 months (normally when you set the clocks forward or back). You should also replace the detectors themselves after 10 years.
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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You should also replace the detectors themselves after 10 years.
Or less. Some detectors are good for 7 years...check with the mfg, but good point nonetheless. The CO sensor does get weaker over time and the detector should be replaced routinely.
Such an incident also leads to ensuring crews know what to do if encountering such a call....multiple people sick, etc. Protect yourself for such calls, even bringing in a CO detector for the call as well. Don't place yourself in harms way....wasn't it like last year in KS or something a couple FF's had to be treated for CO exposure on such a call?
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Permalink Reply by Rachel on
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They are very immportant!! I have them in my house-the first story and also on the second story.
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Sorry to hijack here, but thought I would share a CO incident I was on not too long ago.....
We get toned out for a CO call, get on scene and find a nicely kept home with an elderly couple living there. No cars were running, furnace has been operating fine for a couple months now and it was later in the evening and couple denies cooking. Wife says the CO detector starting alarming...intermittent beeps. Of course all looks normal when we are there and our monitor is reading zero. We go through the routine of checking CO sources etc.
While other members are doing that I look at the CO detector...older model, plug in, no battery back-up. Reading the back says if CO detected alarm is a steady tone, if there is a problem, there is intermittent beeps...check owner's manual. Sure enough the couple still had the manual. I check it, don't really see anything and I hit the RESET button just to see if something pops up. The unit cycles and then reads ERR. OK, fine. At that point we were ready to chalk it up as a bad detector, but the unit wouldn't clear.
As we were just about to leave the CO detector starts beeping a few seconds later the microwave across the room starts beeping the same beeps......I mean verbatum....whatever the detector was beeping, the microwave was as well. One guy opens the microwave door and power shuts down to both units, close the door, both units start beeping again. We did this a couple times with the same result. We follow the cord for the CO detector and it plugged in behind the fridge. We pull the fridge out and a FF reaches back to unplug the unit and says the cord was hot. Sure enough the plastic around the prong was melted and there was blackness on the cord.
OK, we grab the TIC, pull the fridge out, unplug that and the outlet cover is black where the CO detector was plugged in. Wall was hot around the outlet, so we turned off that breaker. We pulled the cover off and noticed the insulation on the wires of one side of the outlet was melted and could see a short in the wire. We informed the couple to have an electrician come in and fix the problem, but did prevent a potential fire. Chances are they were a couple hours from a fire and if so, both would be in bed and a good chance of a double fatality.
In the end it just shows the CO detector saved lives in another way, rather than checking for CO.
Sorry for the long story, but it was a very interesting call to be on.....I'll probably never see such a call again in my career.
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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on
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Bill how sad. Excellent reminder to us all. I wish every community member would be better educated.
Yes I have been to quite a few of those calls - many many many homes don't even have carbon monoxide detectors - or have any clue what to do when they go off... and too many deaths...
Ironically mycarbon monoxide detector by my kitchen went off today because my friends cooking on my gas stove for the first time and they did not know how to manage a gas stove differently than an electric one.
They are grown-ups - I am constantly startled about how many people - especially grownups do not know about fire safety... and gas safety... etc. etc. etc.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Salinger on
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They are grown-ups - I am constantly startled about how many people - especially grownups do not know about fire safety... and gas safety... etc. etc. etc.
I have learned alot of things since joining the work force and one major thing is that humans are stupid creatures. Doesn't matter how cleaver we think or are told we are each one of us is stupid.
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