Baby, It’s Cold Outside: Time to Check Your Furnace & Reduce Carbon Monoxide Risks

With the winter cold now covering most of the United States (it’s even chilly here in San Diego!), product safety officials are urging you to check your furnaces, space heaters, fireplaces, and other home heating systems in an effort to decrease the risks of carbon monoxide poisonings and deadly fires.

Each year from 2004 to 2006, home heating systems accounted for an average of nearly 33,000 fires and 200 deaths, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In many cases, the fires and deaths are the result of negligent or improper maintenance of fireplaces, chimneys, and furnaces by owners of rental properties and commercial buildings.

Also, the number of deaths linked to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning has been increasing since 1999, officials said. From 1999 to 2001, there were on average 123 accidental deaths from carbon monoxide each year. From 2004 to 2006, that number increased to 181 annually, according to CPSC stats.

Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips

The CPSC offers the following tips to help prevent accidental carbon monoxide poisonings:

• Schedule a yearly professional inspection of all fuel-burning home heating systems, including furnaces, boilers, fireplaces, wood stoves, water heaters, chimneys, flues and vents.

• As a second line of defense, install carbon monoxide alarms meeting the requirements of UL 2034 Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms or CSA 6.19 Residential Carbon Monoxide Alarming Devices in the home. Make sure the batteries are fresh and working. Replace the batteries annually at the spring or autumn time changes.

• Activate the test button on the CO alarm monthly to ensure proper operation.

• NEVER operate a portable gasoline powered generator in an enclosed space such as a garage, shed or crawlspace, or in the home.

• Keep portable generators as far away from the home as possible — away from open doors, windows or vents that could allow deadly carbon monoxide into the home.

• Use a space heater that has been tested to the latest safety standards and certified by a nationally-recognized testing laboratory. These heaters will have the most up-to-date safety features. An unvented gas space heater that meets current safety standards will shut off if oxygen levels fall too low.

• Do not use portable propane space heaters indoors or in any confined space unless they are specifically designed for indoor use. Always follow the manufacturer’s directions for proper use.

• Never use gas or electric stoves to heat the home. They are not intended for that purpose and can pose a CO or fire hazard.

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