Carbon monoxide (CO) can be as deadly to the occupants of a home as smoke. That is the primary reason experts recommend installing both smoke and CO detectors. That’s all well and good, but what if a homeowner doesn’t know how to respond to a CO detector alarm? Not knowing how to respond is like having no CO detector at all.
Just like smoke detectors, CO detectors are not designed to prevent carbon monoxide leaks. They are warning devices. They sound an alarm to let occupants know that CO levels in the air are dangerously high. Occupants need to know what to do when they hear such an alarm. Otherwise, CO could prove deadly.
Get Out of the House
Fortunately, knowing how to respond to a CO alarm isn’t difficult. Vivint Smart Home lays it all out in a very informative post published on their site. This is what you should do if you ever hear a CO detector go off:
- Leave – The first step is to drop everything and immediately leave the house. Take all family members and pets with you. Once outside, step away and get to a location where you can get plenty of fresh air.
- Call for Help – Once out of the house, immediately call 911 to apprise them of the situation. They will send first responders.
- Wait Outside – The next step is to wait for first responders to arrive. Do not attempt to re-enter the home, even to retrieve valuables. Do not re-enter until the first responders tell you it’s okay to do so.
- Investigate – Lastly, investigate what triggered the alarm. Correct any problems first responders pointed out so that you don’t have a repeat event in the future.
The first step is the most important for one simple reason: CO can overwhelm and kill without anyone being the wiser. The symptoms of CO poisoning are very similar to the common cold and flu. More than one person has thought he was coming down with a cold, not knowing he was being poisoned by CO.
Learn and Understand the Symptoms
CO detectors can fail. So even if you have them installed in your home, it is wise to learn and understand the symptoms of CO poisoning. Recognizing the symptoms could save your life in the event that the CO detector in your home fails. Here are the most common CO poisoning symptoms:
- Headache
- Dizziness, lightheadedness
- Nausea, vomiting
- Blurred vision
- Fatigue, sleepiness
- Loss of muscle control
- Disorientation, confusion
- Elevated heart rate
- Tightening in the chest
One of the big challenges of CO poisoning is that it can make a person excessively sleepy. A victim might head right to bed, assuming their symptoms are those of an oncoming cold or flu. This is especially dangerous for the simple fact that going to bed and falling asleep significantly increases the chances of fatal poisoning.
Nothing to Fool Around With
The underlying point in this whole discussion is that CO is nothing to fool around with. Even minimal exposure to heightened levels of the gas can be dangerous. Remember that CO is both colorless and odorless. You cannot see or smell it. That is why having CO detectors in your home is so important.
Now you know how to respond in the event of a CO alarm. Your priority is to get out of the building as quickly as possible. After first responders do what needs to be done to clear the building, it’s time to start looking for the source of the problem. Your safety depends on correcting it.