Alaska ranked second in deaths related to carbon monoxide poisoning

WASILLA — Winter is no longer coming, it’s here, and with it comes an annual increased risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

“It’s the silent kill of people who think they’re cold or not feeling well,” Mat-Su Borough Deputy Director of Emergency Services Ken Barkley said.

Alaska is currently ranked the second-highest state for deaths related to carbon monoxide poisoning, according to a Safewise report by Rebecca Edwards released on Oct. 26.

SafeWise is a professional review and comparison website.

“Each year, more than 400 Americans die from unintentional CO poisoning. Plus, over 20,000 go to the emergency room, and 4,000 are hospitalized because of CO exposure,” Edwards wrote in the report.

Barkley said that earlier this week, he saw a case where a Valley resident was running a generator inside their house, which ultimately poisoned the residents and hospitalized one person. He said that these types of incidents occur every year.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is the second-leading cause of poisoning death in the US, after drugs, according to Edward’s report.

As hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular, Barkley said that he’s running into something new, something that he hasn’t seen in his 30-year career in emergency services. He said that more people are unintentionally leaving their hybrid running inside the garage.

“People don’t know it’s running and it’s emitting the CO,” Barkley said. “We’ve had a few incidents where the families got very ill and it was only to find out the car was left running in the garage.”

The quiet vehicles are added to the list of carbon monoxide threats.

“The hybrid cars now are getting popular. You won’t even hear it, you won’t even know it. It’s very bad,” Barkley said.

Barkley said that as the temperatures continue to drop, people will start heating their homes and a good number of the Valley’s population uses alternative and auxiliary heating methods like space heaters.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is more common in the winter and heating systems make up for 34 percent of all carbon monoxide accidents, according to Edwards’ report. She stated in the report that engine-driven tools like generators or snow blowers are the main source (42 percent) of non-fire-related carbon monoxide poisoning in the US.

Barkley said these methods are not only carbon monoxide dangers but also a fire danger. He warned to keep a house well ventilated and keep heaters away from curtains and other combustible materials. He cautioned everyone to not use power tools inside their house and to never use a stove as a heating device.

“That’s the one people do. They use the stove with the door partially open to heat the place. What happens is you get incomplete combustion. Incomplete combustion creates the off-gas, the CO in the home,” Barkley said.

Barkley recommend everyone in make sure they have working CO detectors in their homes and anyone without them can call the American Red Cross, who will provide and install them for free.

For more information about the Safewise report, see safewise.com/blog/states-carbon-monoxide-poisoning.