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By Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna
February 5, 2024 (San Diego) -- We are having a cold spell here and a lot of times during these cold spells, or during the wintertime, we respond to an increased call of natural gas odors in a home. But carbon monoxide is a silent poison. It’s a colorless and odorless gas. You can’t smell it. But there are warning signs if there is a leak in your home.
If you start feeling flu-like symptoms or achy or you just feel very tired, there’s a good chance you may be having carbon monoxide symptoms. I say that with hesitation because right now is flu season, and we have COVID 19 that’s running and starting to spike a bit. If you start feeling that way, and maybe several people start feeling that way in your house, I would get out of the house, open the house up, air it out and call 911.
However, there are many ways people can prevent these leaks before they happen.
Have your filters checked every month. Make sure that they are clean and if they’re not, replace them especially during the wintertime to make sure that they are working efficiently. If you check the flame, if the flame is yellow or large and unsteady, you know that there’s probably a problem with your appliance. Shut it off.
And don’t turn to other heat sources like your oven or barbeque.
People use their stoves or even bring in their barbecues inside their house and heat those barbecues up to try to keep warm. That’s very dangerous. You could get carbon monoxide poisoning very easily with that. Please, please do not do that.
The most important prevention tactic is to have a carbon monoxide detector in your homea and replace batteries each year. Especially in the desert where we don’t use heaters too often, it’s even more important to have your furnace checked yearly by heating and air contractors to ensure you will have a warm and safe winter ahead.
*Note: The information in this article was compiled from various sources. These suggestions are not a complete list of every preventative or loss control measure. The information is not intended to replace additional safety manuals or the advice of another qualified professional(s). We make no guarantee of results from use of this information. We assume no liability in connection with the information nor the suggestions made.
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