By the time carbon monoxide affects someone, it could be too late.

“You can’t smell it, see it, taste it — nothing,” Dothan Fire Marshal Danny Appling said. “It’s just in the air and taking the place of oxygen.”

January can be one of the deadliest months for accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Carbon monoxide, or CO, is an odorless, colorless gas found in combustion fumes produced by vehicles, small gasoline engines, stoves, lanterns, burning charcoal and wood, gas ranges and heating systems, according to the CDC. It can poison people and animals breathing it in if it builds up in enclosed spaces. It can cause dizziness, headache, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain and confusion. High levels of carbon monoxide could ultimately cause unconsciousness and death.

And if you’re sleeping, you could die before you even exhibit symptoms.

The CDC recently reported in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that unintentional carbon monoxide exposure results in roughly 15,000 emergency department visits and 500 accidental deaths each year in the United States.

But such accidents can be prevented by servicing equipment, making sure vents are unobstructed and chimneys are clean or installing carbon monoxide monitors.

Shannon Gooden, marketing and communications manager for the Southeast Alabama Gas District, said gas appliances or furnaces should be serviced annually and used as intended. In other words, don’t use a gas stove to heat your house.

“Of course with natural gas appliances or any type of appliance, really, as long as you operate the appliance under its suggested guidelines, you’re not going to have any carbon monoxide poisoning or anything like that,” Gooden said. “The first thing that consumers can do is make sure on any type of natural gas product that their venting is not impaired in any way.”

A carbon monoxide monitor — similar to a smoke detector — costs about $30, Appling said. Home day cares are required to have them, but Appling said any home with gas appliances or furnaces shouldn’t be without one. Larger homes may require more than one.

“We recommend they’re placed near the common sleeping area — a hallway or around living areas,” Appling said.

The fire department equips each fire engine with carbon monoxide monitors and will check homes at no charge if a residents are concerned. Appling said yellowing around gas furnaces or appliances can be a sign they’re not working properly.

And Gooden said the gas district charges $15 to check heaters and appliances.
Unvented gas logs are equipped with safety sensors that shut the logs off if carbon monoxide exceeds safe levels. Gooden said if a resident has to light such logs repeatedly because they keep going out, that’s a clear sign something is not right.

Death rates due to carbon monoxide poisoning are higher in the elderly and men, according to the CDC. It’s believed men are more susceptible because they are more likely to work with fuel-burning tools or appliances. Elderly victims, the report stated, often confuse carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms with other ailments.

Between 1999 and 2004, carbon monoxide poisoning contributed to nearly 16,500 deaths — 16 percent of those deaths were accidental and non-fire related, according to the CDC report. In the same five-year period, 48 Alabama residents died from accidental, non-fire related carbon monoxide poisoning.

“Natural gas is just like any other energy source,” Gooden said. “If used properly, it’s incredibly safe.”

Carbon Monoxide - What to do or not do
• Do have heating systems, water heaters and any other gas-, oil- or coal-burning appliances serviced by a qualified technician each year.

• Do install battery-operated carbon monoxide detectors in homes. Replace batteries when you change the time on clocks each spring and fall. If a detector sounds, leave the home immediately and call 911 from a safe location.

• Do seek medical attention promptly if carbon monoxide poisoning is suspected and if feeling dizzy, light-headed or nauseous.

• Do not use a generator, charcoal grill, camp stove or other gasoline- or charcoal-burning device inside the home, basement, garage or outside the home near a window.

• Do not run a car or truck inside an enclosed garage attached to a house even if the garage door is left open.

• Do not burn anything in a stove or fireplace that is not vented.

• Do not heat a house with a gas oven.

Source: Centers for Disease Control