CARBON MONOXIDE (CO) POSES SILENT AND SERIOUS THREAT FOR FAMILIES DURING WINTER MONTHS

Home Safety Council Research Shows Only 35 Percent of American Homes are Protected by CO Detector

Wilkesboro, N.C. – Often known as a silent killer, carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless and odorless gas that poses a substantial risk to families using fuel-burning heating sources during the winter months. In fact, according to the Home Safety Council’s State of Home Safety in America™ report, CO poisoning accounted for more than 100,000 medical visits in the year studied.

The high number of poisonings documented by the Council’s research may be explained by the fact that sixty-seven percent (67 percent) of households studied use fuel-burning appliances as their primary heating sources during the winter months. Nearly a third had woodstoves or fireplaces. If fuel-burning heating sources are defective, improperly vented or poorly maintained, residents of the home are at increased risk for CO poisoning.

“A carbon monoxide detector is critical in alerting families to CO levels that may pose a serious health threat,” said Home Safety Council President Meri-K Appy. “Surprisingly, our research found that only 35 percent of American homeowners had a carbon monoxide detector in their home, leaving more than half of American homes at risk of CO poisoning.”

Because CO is undetectable by smell and sight, and initial symptoms such as headaches and dizziness can be mistaken for flu or other illness, CO detectors play a significant role in alerting families to this “silent killer.”

According to the Home Safety Council, CO poisoning precautions should not stop at the CO detector. The Home Safety Council recommends applying the following precautions and practices to help reduce the chance of CO poisoning this year:

• Install at least one CO alarm in your home, specifically near sleeping areas.
• Ventilate the room when using a kerosene space heater.
• Have a trained professional inspect, clean and tune-up the central heating system each year and repair any leaks or other defects.
• Open the flue before you build a fire in the fireplace.
• Have a trained professional inspect chimneys each year and have any cracks repaired before using the fireplace.
• Install and use wood-burning stoves according to manufacturers’ directions and in compliance with local building and safety code requirements.
• Keep gas appliances properly vented, adjusted and serviced.
• Never use a range or oven to heat your home.
• Never use a gas barbecue grill or generator inside your home or in a closed garage.
• If you have an attached garage, don’t leave the car running inside the garage, even with the door open.
• Should your CO detector alert you to an increased level of carbon monoxide, turn off all heat sources and gas appliances, open windows and evacuate the home. Contact the fire department.
• CO detectors detect dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. They are not substitutes for smoke alarms. Smoke alarms detect smoke from a fire, but they are not designed to warn you of dangerous CO levels.

For more information about preventing carbon monoxide and other poison risks in the home, please visit www.homesafetycouncil.org.

About Home Safety Council

The Home Safety Council is a nonprofit organization dedicated solely to the prevention of and education about home injuries. The Council is an independent, 501(c)(3), charitable organization with the mission to empower, activate and educate society to practice better home safety to prevent injuries and save lives. For additional home safety information and free brochures, visit www.homesafetycouncil.org.