Carbon Monoxide

It is called the silent killer. We cannot see it, smell it, or taste it, yet we read about another carbon monoxide tragedy far too often. this time of year the Hollis Fire Department experiences and increase in carbon monoxide (CO) investigations. The overwhelming response from the homeowner that called is "I wasn't sure if I should call..."  Most are glad they did call, because the fire department was able to decisively pinpoint a home CO problem and it source. The most important defensive action to protect your family from CO poisoning is the installation of home CO detector(s).

Carbon monoxide is created when fossil fuels burn incompletely. Possible sources of CO are home heating appliances, gas appliances, barbeque grills, vehicles in attached garages, etc. CO poisoning occurs when we inhale the undetected CO and it attaches to our red blood cells creating carboxyhemoglobin. When our cells are deprived of oxygen we start to feel the classic symptoms of CO poison: headaches, nausea, flu like symptoms leading to unconsciousness and ultimately death, if left untreated. With a home CO detector, early detection will prevent CO poisoning.

The minimum protection for your family is a single CO detector installed outside each sleeping area. for best protection, include a detector on every level of you home. remember that smoke detectors do not replace CO detectors. You must have smoke detectors and CO detectors to adequately protect your family. There are many detectors on the market. We recommend units that have battery backup and units that have a digital display.

If your CO detector does alarm, check the detector and read the digital display, evacuate you home and call 911. The 911 operator will ask if anyone is experiencing any symptom related to CO poisoning.  When Hollis Fire/EMS personnel arrive, they will assess your family's health and enter you home with a gas meter to evaluate the level of the problem and determine the source of the CO. If the problem can be rectified, the Fire Department will help and most likely make recommendations to alleviate the problem in the future to keep your family safe.

If you have any questions about protecting you family from carbon monoxide poisoning or other health and safety questions, please contact the Hollis Fire Department at 465-6001.