A close call with an invisible killer

We’ve all had those moments that make the world stop for a minute so that we can count our blessings and hold our loved ones a little closer.

I had one of those a few weeks ago. And now I feel anxious to spread the message about having carbon monoxide detectors in every home, on every floor and near every bedroom.

I was visiting my daughter and her husband who had just welcomed a precious baby girl into their family. My job was to love on and tend to their almost three-year-old twin boys.

After a long day of adjusting to the baby being home, we retired to our beds exhausted only to be awaked at 4 a.m. to an alarm going off. I jumped out of bed and met my son-in-law in the hallway. While we expected a fire or at least smoke, we couldn’t smell or see any problem. We quickly realized it was the carbon monoxide detector.

My daughter and son-in-law quickly threw coats, shoes and blankets on the groggy little ones while I called the emergency number.

We waited, still startled, in the car for the firemen to arrive hoping that it was just a low battery or faulty CO detector so we could go back to bed.

This was not the case.

The initial CO level measurement just inside the front door was 8 ppm (parts per million), which is actually a normal reading in a home where gas appliances are used. Further inside the house though, the fireman measured a 20 ppm on the main level and a 40 ppm upstairs where the bedrooms are.

Luckily, the readings were not yet dangerous and none of us would have suffered ill effects had we stayed in the house to wait for the first responders. But if the detectors had not warned us of the danger, the outcome could have been fatal.

The culprit was a cracked heat exchanger in the furnace. The technician said a yearly inspection (which they suggest for many reasons) may or may not have detected the crack in time to prevent the exposure.

Had the levels of CO reached 400 ppm we likely would have suffered headaches after one to two hours. After three hours it could have been life threatening, especially to the three-year-old boys and brand-new baby girl.

At 800 ppm, we would have experienced dizziness, nausea, and convulsions within 45 minutes and death within two to three hours.

Not a rare occurrence

This kind of incident happens more than you think. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that around 400 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning not linked to fires each year. There are also some 20,000 emergency room visits and more than 4,000 hospitalizations annually due to CO poisoning.

The worst time of the year is winter, about 36 percent of all CO deaths occur in December, January, or February.

One of our readers recently had a similar incident to mine.

Barbra Summerhill was cooking on a gas stove when she noticed the flame of her burner was orange, instead of blue.

“I checked the other flames, thinking maybe I had a faulty burner but they were all burning orange. Something told me to call the gas company. They immediately sent out a technician,” she said.

Although a change in the color of the flame can be caused by other environmental adjustments such as humidity, in this case it was the presence of carbon monoxide, Summerhill said.

The technician found the levels of CO read between 10 ppm and 200 ppm inside the home. After hours of trying to track down the source, the technician finally found a heat exchanger in the furnace that was burning incorrectly and sending dangerous CO outside through the exhaust.

He explained that CO was filtering back into our home through a door we use to let our dog in and out. The levels next to the exhaust system outside measured 4,000 ppm.

Summerhill said her family does have CO detectors, however they were not low level detectors so they did not go off. Some detectors don’t go off until the gas reaches 40 to 60 ppm.

What you can do to stay safe?

Makes sure you have adequate protection! CO detectors have a life span of only five to 10 years. The newer detectors come with a date stamp or a life span warning signal. The CDC recommends changing the detectors every 5 years.

Here are some things to check with your detectors:

• Are they in working order?
• Is the detector expired?
• Will the detectors sense CO at low levels?
• Are the batteries fresh?

The CDC also recommends having your heating system, water heater, and any other gas, oil, or coal burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician every year. Residents should also have chimneys checked or cleaned every year. For a full list of recommendations click here.

In our case, the CO detectors did exactly what they were supposed to do. There was no smell. None of us were feeling effects of the poison. We were alerted early, before it was deadly.

I don’t think we can talk about this too much nor too often! Let my wake-up call be your motivation — install them in your home, on every floor and near every bedroom.

DON’T WAIT!

After my experience, I spent the next few days looking into the eyes of my little ones with gratitude for the blessing of more time to play on the floor, more trips to the playground, and more opportunities to spoil my grand-babies like only a grandma can.