How to keep safe from CO

February 21, 2006

MARY AMES\Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU - The law says you have to have one and there are many on the market, but which carbon monoxide detector should you buy and what should you do when one sounds off?

Tara Mellon, education coordinator with Central Mat-Su Fire Department, recommends people get carbon monoxide detectors with digital readouts.

&#8220They are totally the way to go,” Mellon said. &#8220We suggest people get a detector they can plug in, with a battery backup. When an alarm goes off, and it says LB, that means low battery, and they can change the battery as a first step.”

But if the alarm sounds and it doesn't have a digital readout, or the readout is something other than a low battery, leave the house, Mellon said.

Call 911, either from the house phone or, preferably, from a cell phone outside the house.

But resist the temptation to air out the house.

&#8220The most important thing is to leave and to leave the house intact,” Mellon said. &#8220We can't isolate the source and can't get an accurate reason for the CO levels if the windows have been opened.”

The watershed incident that made people more aware of the dangers of CO was the death of five members of the Arts family in Anchorage in December 2003.

Mellon credits an increase in public awareness for the swell in calls about CO, even before the law went into effect.

&#8220People are trying to protect themselves,” she said. &#8220Sometimes we

transport people who are sick with flu-like symptoms, and we don't hear what caused the illness. But if someone feels sick inside the house, but feels better after a few hours outside, it could be signs of CO poisoning.”

A CO level of 9 parts per million will cause most alarms to sound, according to the American Society of Heating and Engineering, Mellon said.

At 200 ppm, a person will have a headache and dizziness after a few hours; after three hours at 400 ppm, you are in a life-threatening situation and at 800 ppm, you will be unconscious in two hours and dead in two to three, she said.

The CO detector in the house can be at any level in a room because CO isn't heavier or lighter than air, Mellon said.

The best place to put one is in the hallway by the bedrooms, but one on every level of the house is better, she said.

&#8220And when it gets real cold, don't block the cold air intakes,” she said.