MEDIA CONTACT: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930
mebrady@co.pg.md.us @PGFDPIO
A carbon monoxide (CO) alarm is credited with alerting a Capitol heights grandmother of unhealthy air in her house, however, she had already started to fill the effects of the "Silent Killer." Firefighters and Medics were alerted to a
sounding alarm with a female occupant on the floor not able to stand up just before 3:00 pm today. When firefighters from Capitol Heights first
arrived on the scene at the single-family home in the 4100 block of Ellis
Street no one answered knocks on the door.
Firefighters quickly made entry into the house and located a female
occupant lying on the floor. She was
conscious but not alert. Firefighters
removed her and her dog to the homes exterior where her condition immediately
started to improve. The dog was provided
to other family members that arrived on the scene. The adult female was transported by medics to a local hospital suffering from CO exposure, she was in "fair" condition.
Firefighters used gas meters and found a reading of 24 parts
per million (ppm) of CO inside the homes atmosphere.
A reading of 30 ppm is considered to unhealthy, however, longer
exposures at a lower ppm level will still sicken a person, especially younger
children and older adults.
A CO detector continually takes air samples. When it detects a level for an extended
period of time it will sound an audible alert.
When the alert sounded the female called other family members for help,
which eventually led to a 911 call and Fire/EMS response. If not for the detector sounding a warning, the home occupant, already sickened from CO exposure, on the ground and unable
to get up, would have only gotten sicker to the point of unconsciousness and
perhaps death.
Firefighters discovered the occupant was using her oven to
warm the house due to her furnace not working.
Carbon
monoxide is called the “Silent Killer” by firefighters and medics because you
cannot smell, see or taste the toxic gas. With CO
going undetected, home occupants will start to feel sick with flu like
symptoms. The higher the level of CO the shorter amount of time it takes
to start making people sick. CO is a by-product of fossil fuel combustion
and can be problematic when over combustion occurs at the appliance or when CO
is not properly vented outside.
The
only way homeowners can detect the presence of unhealthy CO in their home is to
purchase and install a carbon monoxide detector. County law currently
requires a working CO detector on every level of your home, primarily, just
outside of sleeping areas. This law also applies to all apartments,
condos, hotels, motels and dormitories in Prince George's County.
The
Fire/EMS Department highly recommends the purchase of 10-year, tamper proof,
with hush feature detector that can be purchased at home improvement and
hardware stores. Test your smoke alarm and CO detector on the first day
of every month to ensure they are working. CO detectors have an active
life of about 7 years and should be upgraded to a 10-year detector as soon as
possible.
Homeowners
and property managers should use this relatively warm weather for this time of
year to contact a Heating/Ventilation/Air Conditioning (HVAC) technician to
inspect heating devices and ventilation pipes.
Some HVAC Companies offer a reduced price for inspections this time of
year. Certified technicians will inspect
gas-fueled furnaces, stoves, fireplaces and water heaters to ensure the
combustion process is occurring within normal limits and that all flu and
ventilation pipes are in tact and not clogged.
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